An Eiffel Tower-sized container ship paralyzes trade in the Suez Canal for a second day. China's stock-market rout shows what can happen when stimulus measures end. Protestors in Myanmar are using dark web tools to stay connected. Here's what people in markets are talking about today.
A massive container ship is still blocking the Suez Canal, one of the world's busiest waterways. Tugs and diggers have so far failed to dislodge the 200,000-ton Ever Given, increasing the chances of prolonged delays for ships carrying everything from live animals to liquefied natural gas. Ships using the Suez typically handle something like 10% of seaborne trade. Dredgers are still trying to loosen the vessel before any attempt to pull it out, the ship’s manager said. The struggle to dislodge it is now turning the world’s attention to the work of SMIT Salvage, a legendary Dutch firm whose employees parachute themselves from one ship wreckage to the next, often saving vessels during violent storms.
Asia stocks are likely to be subdued after rotation out of companies that benefited from the pandemic dragged down U.S. equities. Futures edged up in Japan and were lower in Australia and Hong Kong. Oil jumped as crews struggled to unblock the Suez Canal. The dollar strengthened. Decent demand at an auction of five-year Treasury notes helped keep U.S. yields steady, a relief after last month’s disastrous seven-year auction sparked a global selloff in bonds. Bitcoin has reversed the gains it made following Tesla Chief Musk’s tweet that the firm’s cars can be purchased with the cryptocurrency. It was around $54,000 in early Asia trading.
China’s stock market is showing the world what happens when central banks and governments start exiting pandemic-era stimulus — and it’s not pretty. The CSI 300 Index has lost 15% since climbing to a 13-year high last month as concern about tighter monetary policy replaced optimism about the economic recovery. Now the gauge is trailing MSCI’s global benchmark by the most since 2016. For Chinese companies listed in the U.S., the risk of getting kicked off American exchanges is gaining traction, with the SEC taking initial steps to force accounting firms to let U.S. regulators review the financial audits of overseas companies. Meanwhile, China is set to benefit from the Biden administration's $1.9 trillion stimulus boost: A rise in U.S. spending should be good news for the world’s biggest exporter.
Protestors in Myanmar are turning to the dark web. Sidestepping a crackdown on internet use since the military seized power almost two months ago, hundreds of thousands of protesters and citizens are finding different
ways to communicate online. They have moved to a Facebook mirror site, used messaging apps that rely on Bluetooth technology and turned to lesser-known social media platforms to stay connected, cybersecurity firm Recorded Future says. Meanwhile, the junta expects Asian nations to keep investing in the troubled state and an Australian adviser to detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi is being investigated by the authorities under two separate charges.AstraZeneca says it will release up-to-date results from the final stage trial of its vaccine within 48 hours, responding to criticism from a U.S. science agency. Singapore will relax workplace measures to allow more people to return to offices and is closely watching the supply of vaccines, remaining committed to inoculating its adult population by year-end. And here's how a vaccine-passport system might work (spoiler: probably not very equitably).
What We’ve Been Reading
This is what’s caught our eye over the past 24 hours:
And finally, here's what Tracy's interested in today
Wednesday was a good reminder that supply chains really do make the world go 'round. Not only did a giant container ship get stuck in the Suez Canal, blocking thousands of tons worth of goods and sending oil prices as much as 6.2% higher, but we also had what might be the first signs of the semiconductor shortage showing up in U.S. economic data.
Orders for durable goods — think cars, washing machines and the like — fell for the first time in almost a year. It's a volatile data set but given recent announcements by auto makers that they're cutting production because of the lack of chips, it's hard to imagine that the supply crunch isn't having an impact. Lots of companies won't take new orders if they know they can't fill them due to a parts shortage. As Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Advisory put it: "Bottom line, the semi shortage is a really big deal and it’s now showing up in the numbers."
You can follow Tracy Alloway on Twitter at @tracyalloway.
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