PHNOM PENH: The CSX Index is currently at 509.16 Points up 1.13 Points or 0.224%
The Daily Exchange Rate: is 4,062 KHR to the USD$
ASIA STOCKS UP BUT INVESTORS WORRY ABOUT RATE HIKES, CHINA LOCKDOWNS.
Asia stocks rose on Wednesday even as central banks piled into aggressive rate hikes to battle soaring inflation and left investors worried about slower global growth.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) rose 0.72%, with Australian shares (.AJXO) up 0.72%, Seoul (.KS11) adding 0.84% and Taiwan (.TWII) advancing 1.07%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng (.HSI) and China's main indexes (.SSEC), (.CSI300) also traded higher, while Japan's Nikkei share average (.N225) slipped 0.04%.
European markets also looked set for a firmer open, with pan-European futures up 0.93% and FTSE 100 futures rising 0.88%.
The U.S. dollar index =USD - which measures the currency against six major rivals - rebounded 0.16% to 101.92, a level not seen since April 26. Meanwhile the kiwi hit a three-week high of $0.65 after the New Zealand central bank raised rates by an aggressive 50 basis points and signaled more to come.
The Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) dropped 2.35% and the S&P 500 (.SPX) lost 0.81%
Gold prices dipped 0.19% to $1,862.27 per ounce, having risen to their highest in two weeks on Tuesday, as the greenback gained.
S&P 500, NASDAQ SLIDE AS WEAK ECONOMIC DATA, DIRE OUTLOOKS STOKE RECESSION FEARS
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq finished in the red on Tuesday as worries that aggressive moves to curb decades-high inflation might tip the U.S. economy into recession dampened investors' risk appetite.
All three major U.S. stock indexes pared their losses in afternoon trading, with the blue-chip Dow turning positive. Even so, the S&P 500 ended just 2.2 percentage points above confirming it has been in a bear market since reaching its all-time high on Jan. 3.
Much of the sell-off was driven by a profit warning from Snap Inc , which sent the company's shares plummeting 43.1%, sparking contagion throughout the social media segment.
Meta Platforms Inc (FB.O), Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), Twitter Inc and Pinterest Inc were down between 5% and 24%, and the broader S&P 500 Communications Services sector (.SPLRCL) slid 3.7%.
Global supply chain disruptions have been exacerbated by Russia's war with Ukraine and restrictive measures in China to control its latest COVID-19 outbreak, sending inflation to multi-decade highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) rose 48.38 points, or 0.15%, to 31,928.62; the S&P 500 (.SPX) lost 32.27 points, or 0.81%, to 3,941.48; and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) dropped 270.83 points, or 2.35%, to 11,264.45.
Six of the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500 ended the session in negative territory, with communication services and consumer discretionary (.SPLRCD) suffering the biggest percentage losses.
CRYPTOCURRENCY CRASH DEVALUES UKRAINE'S GOVERNMENT CRYPTO FUNDRAISE.
Ukraine, battered by three months of war, plans to continue to tap crypto investors to help raise funds after a plunge in prices decimated the country’s fundraising efforts in May.
On March 19, the government's "Aid for Ukraine" fund said it had raised more than $60 million worth of cryptocurrency. But two months later, on May 19, the total raised was worth $51.5 million, Ukraine's deputy minister for digital transformation Alex Bornyakov said
Cryptocurrencies have fallen sharply in recent weeks. Bitcoin has lost more than 20% of its price so far in May, following a 17% drop in April, highlighting the risks faced by holders of the highly volatile assets.
That is all the latest news on finance tune in (on Monday) tomorrow for more.
By Anthony Ellis National Finance.
