Asia-Pacific Markets Mixed; Thailand's Election Results in Focus, Baht Strengthens
Asian markets are mixed, with some seeing gains and some losses, after Wall Street sees a second straight week of losses.
The market opened Monday with a 0.3% gain, but then pared gains. It closed the day 0.2% lower. The mainland Chinese market was mixed, with some markets up and others down. The price is down by 0.35%. The S&P 500 fell for the second week in a row, falling 0.29% on a weekly basis and down 1.11% on a monthly basis. Thailand's Gross Domestic Product for the First Quarter will be released on Monday morning. China will release a number of economic statistics on Tuesday, including industrial production, retail sales and fixed asset investment growth. Reuters surveyed economists who predicted that industrial production would grow by 10,1% on an annual basis in April, after growing by 3.9% the previous month. CNBC Pro: UBS bets on European banks rather than automakers at the moment. The investment bank highlighted 3 structural changes which could lead to significant gains in banking stocks compared to their automotive counterparts despite similar economic cycles.
According to the investment bank, one of the stocks has a potential upside of more than 60% over the next twelve months.
On Friday, 17 stocks of the S&P 500 index reached new highs. Many were trading at record highs. Last trading, it was down by more than 1% to $26,416.31. Bitcoin has ended the last six trading days lower or with a gain of less than 1%. --Jeff Cox