Asia markets trade mixed; India expected to raise repo rates

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7 Hours Ago

Chip stocks fall as recession fears mount

11 Hours Ago

Services index slides on drops in orders, imports and prices

The U.S. services sector slipped closer to contraction in March due to sharp declines in new orders, exports and prices.

The ISM Services index declined to 51.2%, representing the level of businesses reporting expansion. A reading below 50% represents contraction, a level that index last saw in December. Economists had been looking for 53.8%, according to Dow Jones. February’s reading was 55.1%.

New export orders plunged 18 percentage points to 43.7, new orders tumbled 10.4 points to 52.2 and imports fell 9 points to 43.6. The prices sub-index showed inflation cooling some, as it dropped 6.1 percentage points to 59.5.

The ISM Manufacturing index is well in contraction level, with a reading Tuesday of 46.3% for March.

—Jeff Cox

12 Hours Ago

U.S. trade deficit rises, pointing to weaker Q1 growth

The U.S. trade deficit rose more than expected in February as exports posted a sharp decline, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

The trade imbalance increased to $70.5 billion for the month, up $1.9 billion from January and more than the Dow Jones estimate.

Exports fell to $251.2 billion, a 2.7% decline, as industrial supplies, autos, consumer goods and capital goods all decreased. Imports fell by $5 billion.

As exports add to GDP and imports subtract, the numbers suggest economic growth could be weaker than expected in the first quarter. The Atlanta Federal Reserve’s GDPNow tracker is pointing to a gain of just 1.7% for the period, down from 3.5% less than two weeks ago.

—Jeff Cox

12 Hours Ago

Yields dip after ADP report misses expectations

Treasury yields gave up their gains and turned red for the day after a weak labor market reading from the ADP private payrolls report.

The 2-year Treasury yield fell 8 basis points to 3.751%. The 10-year yield fell more than 3 basis points to about 3.3%.

Yields move opposite of price.

— Jesse Pound

13 Hours Ago

Hiring slumps in March as financial activities sector sees big decline

Private company hiring fell sharply in March and was well below expectations, according to a report from payroll processing firm ADP.

Payrolls rose by just 145,000 for the month, down from 261,000 in February and below the Dow Jones estimate for 210,000.

Losses in financial activities, profession and business services and manufacturing pushed the total lower. Leisure and hospitality, trade, transportation and utilities and construction led hiring.

The numbers come ahead of Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report, which is expected to show a gain of 238,000.

—Jeff Cox

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