Market Weh-Weh as Lunar New Year Don Lock Trading

Na serious wahala dey ground for Asian markets on Monday as Lunar New Year don make dem lock shop for China, Seoul, and Taipei. E be like say the holiday carry heavy market chill come, and Japan too no dey help matter with their economy wahala.

Trading floors for Shanghai, Seoul, and Taipei don jam lock, while Hong Kong and Singapore just close after half-day trading. Na so US markets too dey chill as dem dey celebrate Presidents' Day. Omo, GPD growth for Japan na wetin don put Takaichi, di Prime Minister, for hot seat. Dem say na just 0.1 percent growth dem record, wey dey low pass di 0.4 percent wey market expect.

The figures no just favor am at all, as dem don start to dey worry wetin go happen next. Takaichi don promise to boost economic activity, but with dis number, e no too dey easy. One analyst wey dey call Marcel Thieliant talk say dis slow growth mean say di big budget wey dem pass last year no show face for public spending yet. Na wah!

Na so dem dey believe say she fit still go ahead to suspend sales tax on food if di economy continue to dey waka like dis one. Tokyo market don close 0.2 percent down, while Hong Kong rise small with 0.5 percent as dem end trading early for di holiday.

Wellington, Jakarta, Manila, and Kuala Lumpur dey show small losses, even though cities like Sydney, Mumbai, and Bangkok dey enjoy some small gains. Singapore no too change much for di matter. E be like say markets dey try balance after dem react to di tech-stock wahala wey happen last week. Traders dey wonder when all di big money wey dem don spend on AI infrastructure go start to shine back for dem.

This week, all eye go dey for AI matter as di AI Impact Summit go start for New Delhi. Big names like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Google’s Sundar Pichai dey ready to showcase wetin dey happen for AI. While people dey rush for generative AI, dem still dey think about di risks wey come with am. E no go too good if society and environment suffer because of all dis tech wahala.

Even for US, di consumer inflation don cool small, which mean say di Fed fit consider cutting rates again. This one dey happen because inflation don drop to di lowest level since March 2021. Expert dey say dis one fit give dem green light to take action, but na only if di improvement no be just small small.

Na at dis point gold don dip below $5,000 an ounce, and silver follow as e fall by one percent. Standard Chartered talk say markets don dey expect deeper Fed rate cuts dis year, which dey support gold demand. Dem don conclude say gold go still dey enjoy better attention for market.

For Tokyo, di Nikkei 225 close at 56,806.41 down by 0.2 percent; Hong Kong Hang Seng Index close at 26,705.94 up by 0.5 percent; and Shanghai Composite lock shop for holiday. Dollar to yen don increase from 152.71 to 153.14 yen, while euro and pound no show much change against di dollar.

E be like say di wahala for markets fit continue well into di new year if any positive development no show face soon. Make we dey watch as di story dey unfold.