On Wednesday at the press conference, Trump took shots at the pharmaceutical industry and failed to provide new details on three of his key policies: tax reform, deregulation of certain sectors and fiscal stimulus.
Trump held his first press conference since winning the presidency yesterday, 11 January 2017, touching on many of the issues that will dominate the opening weeks of his presidency. Looming over the proceedings was a newly-published, and entirely unverified, dossier claiming the Russian government had collected compromising information on him.
The President-elect said Obamacare would be repealed and replaced on the same day and a Supreme Court justice would be chosen within two weeks of his inauguration. He also reaffirmed commitments to build a wall on the border with Mexico and said he would bring in a border tax for companies that chose to move operations offshore.
Investors were hoping for commentary on the new administration's plans for fiscal stimulus and tax cuts. Instead, Trump remarked on a broad range of topics such as the Mexican wall, allegations of Russian hacking and his business interests but left out what investors wanted to hear about - fiscal spending. US President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday lashed out at drugmakers for "getting away with murder" in offshoring production and overcharging for medicines.
Ahead, Yellen hosts a town hall meeting with educators in Washington, D.C., that will be eyed for any possible remarks on a Fed forecast of as many as three interest rate hikes in 2017.
Among Asian bourses
Australia Market edges down
Australian share market revered course to finish marginally lower, dragged down by selloff in healthcare stocks on following U.S. peers lower after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's comments on the sector, offsetting gains in materials and energy shares. The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.1%, or 4.58 points, to 5,766.9 at the close of trade.
Shares of healthcare sector were hard hit, taking their cue from U.S. peers after Trump said pharmaceutical companies were "getting away with murder" by charging high prices. Worst hit were sector giant blood products and flu vaccine company CSL, which lost 2.8%, and Mayne Pharma, down 4%, as both companies have significant U.S. exposure.
Basic materials and energy shares closed higher thanks to a weaker dollar after Trump's conference, which failed to offer details on his promises to boost fiscal spending and cut taxes. Mining giants Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Fortescue Metals gained between 1% and 1.3%, while oil and gas explorers Woodside Petroleum and Santos each added around 1%.
Nikki falls on disappointment over Trump remarks
The Japan share market closed down, dragged down by yen strength against greenback and investor disappointment over U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's failure to clarify his economic policy measures. Investors were disappointed by President-elect Donald Trump's first news conference since the election, as he was light on details about the U.S. economic outlook while stoking uncertainty about the U.S. relationship with countries like Japan. The Nikkei Stock Average fell 229.97 points, or 1.2%, to 19,134.70 following a 63.23-point rise Wednesday. The Topix index of all Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section issues fell 14.99 points, or 0.97%, to 1535.41.
Shares of exporters were hardest hit after the yen strengthened 0.9% against the greenback amid lack of U.S. policy clarity under Mr. Trump's administration. Some investors' think there could be risk of protectionism grows under a Trump administration after Mr. Trump reiterated his desire to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. A stronger yen hurts Japanese exporters as it makes their products more expensive abroad and reduces the value of repatriated profits. Toyota Motor ended down 1%, Nissan Motor was 1.06% lower and Mazda lost 1.5%.
Toshiba dived 5.4% after reports that the troubled conglomerate could be hit by bigger-than-expected losses at its US nuclear unit. Toshiba is finalising the size of special losses at Westinghouse, which could reach tens of billions of yen, on top of a previously warned one-time shortfall of several billion dollars.
Drug makers Takeda, Astellas Pharma and Shionogi were also downbeat as their U.S. peers met with selling due to Trump's criticism against the pharmaceutical industry at Wednesday's news conference.
Cosmo Energy Holdings finished up 7.52% after a Japanese securities firm revised up its investment rating and target stock price on the oil company.
Mainland China stock market ended down, registering third day of falling streak, due to investor disappointment over U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's failure to clarify his economic policy measures. Selloff was also fueled by risk of liquidity stresses in the financial system after faster approvals for initial public offerings (IPO) and increasing issuance of additional shares by listed companies. Nearly all main sectors lost ground, led down by material and industry shares. The blue-chip CSI300 index, which tracks large companies in Shanghai or Shenzhen, fell 0.5% to close at 3,317.62. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.56% to close at 3,119.29. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, dropped 0.87% to 1951.31. The ChiNext Index, which tracks China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, shed 0.38% to 1,930.15 points.
Investor sentiment was dampened after Trump didn't elaborate on his economic steps, such as tax breaks and fiscal stimulus, at a news conference on Wednesday, his first since the Nov. 8 presidential race
Shares of Metallurgical Corporation of China jumped as much as 6.7% on news reports that it would become the first firm to benefit from state-owned enterprises' reform fund. However, more state-owned stocks tied to reform hopes fell, with bellwether China United Network Communications closing 3.2% lower, dampening already weak sentiment.
Mobile carrier China Unicom declined further after previous losses, falling 3.2% to 6.68 yuan. Telecom equipment producer ZhongTongGuoMai Communication also plunged 10% to 55.67 yuan.
Department store operators retreated following gains in the previous session, with Sanjiang Shopping Club sinking 5.6% to 36.67 yuan, and Shanghai Xujiahui Commercial plummeting 5.3% to 18.2 yuan.
Steel makers also weakened. Hunan Valin Steel was down 6.9% to 5.65 yuan, and Xinjiang Ba Yi Iron & Steel was off 4.9% at 6.43 yuan.
Hong Kong Stocks snap five day rally
The Hong Kong stock market took a breather after five days of gains, as investors elected to book recent profit after the benchmark index added more than 3.6% in the past five sessions. The Hang Seng Index declined 0.46% or 106.33 points to close at 22,829.02. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index, or the H-share index, fell 0.11% or 10.85 points to 9,723.05. Turnover decreased to HK$63.3 billion from HK$69.8 billion on Wednesday.
Overnight in New York, Trump held his first news conference since the election and answered questions on subjects including Russia, Mexico and drugs. However, he hadn't given any details on his economic policies, which had spurred a rally in global equity markets in the past few weeks.
Macau casinos were the biggest losers among the Hang Seng Index's constituents, pulling back after recent rallies. CIMB Research downgraded its ratings for Sands China (01928) and Galaxy Entertainment (00027) to "hold" from "buy". Sands China and Galaxy Entertainment tumbled 2.5% and 2.2% respectively to HK$34.75 and HK$35.45.
IDC's latest data reflect stable PC industry, with signs of recovery. Computer and smartphone giant Lenovo Group advanced 2.2% to HK$5.11.
However, gold miners bucked a downward trend after gold futures jumped, with Zhaojin Mining Industry up 1.4% to HK$7.25 and Zijin Mining rising 1.2% to HK$2.64.
Sensex, Nifty edge higher
Indian stock market closed higher for third straight day, led mainly by power, IT and banking stocks, ahead of key macro-economic data due on Thursday. Besides, a positive start of the earnings season also fuelled the domestic market sentiment. The Sensex, rose 106.75 points or 0.39% to settle at 27,247.16. The Nifty rose 26.55 points or 0.32% to settle at 8,407.20.
Investors cheered better-than expected Q3 numbers in Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), whose net profit was up 10.9% to Rs 6,778 crore in the December quarter over the year-ago period. TCS shares rose 0.87% to Rs 2,343.30.
Bajaj Corp stock also moved higher by 1.36% to Rs 376.45 today after the company reported a 17.19% increase in standalone net profit at Rs 57.79 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2016.
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