ASIAN STOCK MARKET: RISK AVERSION REMAINS INTACT AS FEARS OF GLOBAL BANKING CRISIS DEEPEN, OIL REBOUNDS

Markets in the Asian domain are continuing with their downside journey as fears of banking turmoil stretch from the United States to Europe. Investors had yet not emerged of the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapse and now the fiasco of Credit Suisse has spooked market sentiment further. Fears of global financial instability have deepened further and investors are dumping equities globally to dodge sheer volatility.

At the press time, Japan’s Nikkei225 tumbled 1.01%, Shanghai dropped 0.46%, Hang Seng plunged 1.65%, and Nifty50 surrendered 0.55%.

Dictation of ‘material weakness’ in internal controls of Credit Suisse’s financial reporting conveyed something ugly about the banking firm. The headline was followed by a blunt decline by the Saudi National Bank for infusing more funds into Credit Suisse, the leading investor in the Swiss banking firm, which accelerated fears of some internal financial issues and led to a nosedive move in the share price of Credit Suisse.

After the Credit Suisse debacle, China’s China Securities Regulatory Commission has paused approvals for the sale of Global Depositories Receipts (GDRs) as it could threaten domestic market stability, as reported by Bloomberg.

Meanwhile, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) has promised an advance of 50bln Swiss Francs to Credit Suisse. However, the investment banking firm would require plenty of time in the healing process.

Chinese stocks have witnessed an immense sell-off despite hopes of demand recovery. Bloomberg reported that China’s home prices rose in February for the first time in 18 months, a sign that government efforts to revive the battered market are starting to pay off. Generally, optimism in a battered economy initiates with rising realty sector prices and expand further to productivity.

On the oil front, oil prices have rebounded further above $68.00 as G-7 economies have opposed further decline in the price cap for Russian crude oil. US President Biden had told European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in the Oval Office of the White House last week there was no appetite in Washington for adjusting the oil sanctions, as reported by Wall Street Journal.