Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea on Aug 5. (AP)

BANGKOK, Aug 5, (AP): Asian shares advanced on Tuesday, following US stocks higher after they won back most of losses last week that were capped by a sell-off driven by weak US jobs data. Investors appeared to have recovered some confidence after worries over how President Donald Trump’s tariffs may be punishing the economy sent a shudder through Wall Street last week.

At the same time, a stunningly weak US jobs report Friday raised expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its next meeting in September, potentially a plus for markets. This week’s highlights will likely include earnings reports from The Walt Disney Co, McDonald’s and Caterpillar, along with updates on US business activity.

In Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index gained 0.6% to 40,549.54, while the Kospi in South Korea jumped 1.6% to 3,198.00. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng rose 0.6% to 24,855.78. The Shanghai Composite index surged 1% to 3,617.60. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1.2% to 8,770.40, while the SET in Thailand climbed 1.6%.

India’s Sensex was the sole outlier, losing 0.3% on concerns over trade tensions with the United States, with the Trump administration insisting on cutbacks in oil purchases from Russia. India has indicated that it will continue buying oil from Russia, saying its relationship with Moscow was ‘steady and time-tested,’ and that its stance on securing its energy needs is guided by the availability of oil in the markets and prevailing global circumstances.

“Trump’s threats of ‘substantial’ tariff hikes on account of imports of Russian crude pose a quagmire for India,” Mizuho Bank said in a commentary. “Between exacerbated U.S.-imposed geo-economic headwinds and financial/macro setbacks from Russian oil advantages lost, pain will be hard to avert.” On Monday, the S&P 500 jumped 1.5% to 6,329.94.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.3%, or 585.06 points, to 44,173.64. The Nasdaq composite leaped 2% to 21,053.58. Idexx Laboratories helped Wall Street recover from its worst day since May, soaring 27.5% after the seller of veterinary instruments and other health care products reported a stronger profit for the spring than analysts expected.

The pressure is on U.S. companies to deliver bigger profits after their stock prices shot to record after record recently. Reports from big U.S. companies have largely come in better than expected and could help steady a US stock market that may have been due for some turbulence.   

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 4: The Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC) announced a net profit of KD58.5 million for fiscal 2024/2025 – an increase of KD19.5 million or 33.3 percent compared to the profit of KD39 million in the last fiscal year. Oil sector sources pointed out that this strong financial performance was achieved despite the challenges posed by geopolitical instability; specifically, the disruptions in global supply chains and widespread shift to long-haul shipping routes, which significantly increased logistics costs. Sources attributed the company’s robust performance to several factors as follows:

Strategic Acquisitions and International Expansion Looking ahead, PIC is well-positioned for continuous profitability, driven by recent and upcoming acquisitions approved by KPC.

Among the most significant is the April 2025 agreement with China’s Wanhua Chemical Group to acquire a 25 percent stake in a group of petrochemical plants in Yantai, China. The deal covers several high-value industrial units, including propylene oxide, tert-butyl alcohol, acrylic acid, butyl acrylate, and other specialty chemical products PIC is also evaluating new investment opportunities, both locally and internationally, over the next two years, with the aim of expanding its chemical production portfolio.

Its current investment portfolio includes 80 percent stake in Kuwait Paraxylene Production Company (KPPC), 46 percent in Kuwait Stearin Company (KTSC), 24.5 percent in Equate Petrochemical Company (EQUATE), 42.5 percent in The Kuwait Olefins Company (TKOC), 33.3 percent in Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (GPIC), 25 percent in SK Advance (South Korea) and 49 percent in SKPIC Global (South Korea) The company reaffirmed its commitment to environmental stewardship, emphasizing ongoing initiatives to reduce industrial pollutants and support Kuwait’s national goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. Furthermore, PIC’s strategic direction aligns with the 2040 strategy of KPC, aiming to strengthen Kuwait’s position as a leading player in the global petrochemical industry.

Meanwhile, the Central Agency for Public Tenders (CAPT) has announced the extension of the deadline for submitting bids for the Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) tender to establish a new excess water injection network in Rawdatain in North Kuwait until Aug 19, instead of Aug 5. It was also published in Kuwait Al-Youm that the tender for the construction and installation of the fourth water injection station in the South Kuwait, affiliated with KOC, was postponed until Aug 26, instead of Aug 5.

The tender for the construction and installation of separation center three and water injection station three in South Kuwait was postponed until Aug 19, instead of Aug 5. Moreover, CAPT postponed the submission of bids for the KOC tender for the construction and installation of the oil separation center one and water injection station one in East Kuwait until Aug 26, instead of Aug 5.

By Najeh Bilal
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff

A currency trader smiles near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), (left), and the foreign exchange rate between US dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, on Aug 4. (AP)

BANGKOK, Aug 4, (AP): Global shares advanced Monday after Wall Street had its worst day since May following the release of weak US jobs data. France’s CAC 40 added 0.8% in early trading to 7,609.44, while the German DAX rose nearly 1.0% to 23,702.42. Britain’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.4% to 9,108.28. US shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures up 0.6% at 43,951.00. S&P 500 futures rose 0.6% to 6,302.75.

Markets in Asia had already reacted on Friday to US President Donald Trump’s announcement late Thursday of sweeping tariffs on imports from many US trading partners. The new import duties are set to take effect on Thursday. The signs of trouble on the US economic horizon have raised hopes that the Federal Reserve may relent and cut interest rates, analysts said.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index lost 1.3%, bouncing back from bigger losses earlier in the day to finish at 40,290.70. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong jumped 0.9% to 24,733.45, while the Shanghai Composite index climbed nearly 0.7% to 3,583.31. In South Korea, the Kospi surged 0.9% to 3,147.75. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was nearly unchanged at 8,663.70.

Investors’ worries about a weakening US economy deepened after the latest report on job growth in the U.S. showed employers added just 73,000 jobs in July. That is sharply lower than economists expected. The Labor Department also reported that revisions shaved a stunning 258,000 jobs off May and June payrolls. “The labor market, once a pillar of resilience, is now looking more like a late-cycle casualty, as soft data begin to replace soft landings in market discourse,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

Trump’s decision to order the immediate firing of the head of the government agency that produces the monthly jobs figures raised concern over whether there might be interference in future data. The surprisingly weak hiring numbers led investors to step up their expectations the Fed will cut interest rates in September. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.21% from 4.39% just before the hiring report was released. That’s a big move for the bond market. The yield on the two-year Treasury, which more closely tracks expectations for Fed actions, plunged to 3.68% from 3.94% just prior to the report’s release.