APAC Market Wrap - Nov 5  

China Stock Market: At close, Shanghai Composite up 0.23%, Shenzhen Component up 0.37%, ChiNext up 1.03%. Sectors: power grid equipment, Hainan, batteries led gains; quantum tech, gaming led declines.  

 

Hong Kong Stock Market: Hong Kong's three major indices collectively warmed up. At close, Hang Seng down 0.07% to 25,935.41 points; Hang Seng Tech Index down 0.56% to 5,785.85 points; State-owned Enterprises Index down 0.11% to 9,163.24 points.  

 

From market performance, gold, coal, power equipment, lithium battery stocks strong; autos, semiconductors weak.  

 

Japan Stock Market: Nikkei average down 2.50, closed at 50,212.27 points, down 1,284.93 points.  

 

From industry sectors, other products, wholesale, land transport, construction up; non-ferrous metals, info/comms, electrical equipment, machinery multiple sectors down.  

 

Korea Stock Market: KOSPI down 2.85%. Sectors: property insurance, interactive media, wireless comms services, multi-utilities big gains. Energy, aerospace & defense, machinery, electrical equipment down.  

 

Australia Stock Market: S&P/ASX 200 down 0.13% to 8,802.000 points. Sectors: aerospace, restaurants, real estate small gains; semiconductors, business services, other energy bigger drops.  

 

Singapore Stock Market: FTSE Singapore Straits Times Index down 0.49%. Sectors: furniture, packaging, waste management, business services up; aerospace, non-alcoholic beverages, industrial products, education down.  

 

Malaysia Stock Market: FTSE Malaysia KLSE Index down 0.12%. Sectors: transport & logistics, closed-end funds, comms & media, real estate investment up; industrial products & clothing, healthcare, energy, utilities small drops.  

Key events  

Netflix Korea monthly active users reach 14.44 million, average viewing time nearly 7 hours  

 

Data released on Wednesday shows that the global streaming giant Netflix maintains its dominant position in Korea, with local users spending more time on the platform than on any competitor.  

 

According to data compiled by industry tracking agency Wiseapp, Korean users averaged 6 hours 47 minutes on Netflix in October.  

 

The streaming service "Tving" operated by CJ ENM lasted 4 hours 45 minutes, followed by "Wavve" (4 hours 16 minutes), "Coupang Play" (2 hours 32 minutes).  

 

Korean stocks plunge over 6% Valuation worries heavily hit tech stocks  

 

Korea's benchmark stock index plunged, with valuation concerns severely impacting recently strong-performing sectors like chips, defense, and shipbuilding.  

 

The Kospi index fell as much as 6.2% on Wednesday, with chip stocks like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix dragging heavily. The index broke the important psychological threshold of 4000 points, further retreating from historical highs.  

 

Affected by foreign capital outflows from the Korean stock market, the Korean won fell 0.6% against the US dollar, dropping to its lowest level since April.  

 

After Kospi 200 index futures fell over 5%, Korea paused program trading sell orders for five minutes.  

 

Singapore MAS does not seek to make Singapore dollar a reserve currency  

 

Singapore MAS Managing Director Chia Der Jiun said in a media interview that it does not seek to make the Singapore dollar a reserve currency. The report quoted Chia as saying that the Singapore dollar lacks important attributes to become a reserve currency.

 

Chia said that Singapore's macroeconomic and political stability, sound rule of law, active exchange rate management, and AAA credit rating support strong market confidence in the Singapore dollar. Singapore lacks large, deep, and highly liquid asset markets, which are necessary for providing safe assets globally.  

 

Institution says Tesla October UK sales halved year-over-year  

 

Data released by research institution New AutoMotive on Wednesday shows that Tesla's auto sales in the UK in October this year fell by half year-over-year, echoing the sharp decline trend of this American electric vehicle manufacturer in other European countries.  

 

The data shows that Tesla's new car registrations in the UK in October were only 495 vehicles, a 51% drop from 1013 vehicles in the same period last year.  

 

Tesla has been working hard to increase sales in some European countries such as Spain, the Netherlands, and the Nordic markets. As traditional manufacturers and Chinese competitors launch newer and cheaper models flooding the market, Tesla's older models can no longer attract buyers.  

 

Top 10 Korean listed companies' total market cap doubled in first 10 months this year  

 

Data released on Wednesday shows that as the Korean stock market rose sharply this year, the total market cap of Korea's top 10 listed companies grew more than double.  

 

Data from industry tracking agency CEO Score shows that as of the end of October, the total market cap of the top 10 companies including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix reached 1553 trillion Korean won (about 1.09 trillion US dollars), while the total market cap on the last trading day of 2024 was 762 trillion Korean won.  

 

Korean large power plant manufacturer Doosan Enerbility had the largest increase, with its market cap rising from 11.2 trillion Korean won to 56.8 trillion Korean won during this period, growing more than 5 times.  

 

New Zealand unemployment rate rises to nine-year high Economic weakness drags down employment  

 

New Zealand's third-quarter unemployment rate rose to the highest level in nine years, as economic weakness made companies unwilling to hire new employees.  

 

Data released by Statistics New Zealand on Wednesday shows that the unemployment rate rose from 5.2% in the second quarter to 5.3%. This data matches economists' expectations and is also the highest level since the fourth quarter of 2016. Employment was flat compared to the previous three months, weaker than the market's expected 0.1% increase.  

Institutional views  

TD Securities: Gold bull market eroded, expected to consolidate in lower trading range of 3800-4050 dollars  

 

Gold prices rose slightly due to possible technical rebound. TD Securities commodity strategy head Bart Melek's research report says that gold consolidating in the lower trading range of 3800-4050 dollars per ounce should not be surprising. The perfect gold bull market environment has been eroded by the recent unclear Fed rate cut prospects and concerns about buying.

 

However, after consolidation, the average gold price may reach quarterly new highs above 4400 dollars per ounce in the first half of 2026.  

 

Commerzbank: Oversupply expectations pressure oil prices Clear supply exceeding demand likely early next year  

 

Affected by oversupply expectations, crude oil prices fell in early Asian trading. Commerzbank Research commodity analyst Carsten Fritsch said in the report: "Usually crude oil demand weakens in the first quarter, so the oil market may face a clear situation of supply exceeding demand as early as early 2026."

 

He added that if there is no supply disruption caused by sanctions, the oil market is likely to fall into oversupply next year. At the same time, current signals about crude oil demand also appear quite mixed.  

 

JPMorgan: RBA easing cycle may have ended, inflation risks still high  

 

This week, the RBA decided to keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged and predicted that inflation risks will continue until next year. Some economists are starting to think that the easing cycle started in February may have ended.

 

JPMorgan economist Tom Kennedy said that the number of sub-items where inflation levels remain high is worrying, which poses the first substantial challenge to the "inflation slowing" narrative that the RBA has adhered to in the past few quarters. He added that the easing cycle is likely to have come to an end, and the cash rate may remain at 3.6%.