It’s a sad day for those who will lose their jobs at HSBC, as the British lender continues to trim its workforce to improve its profitability. The euphoria over the possible inclusion of Chinese stocks in the MSCI’s Emerging Market Index, which sent shares to new seven-year highs Monday, has died down as the key indexes ended lower Tuesday.
A bloody day at HSBC. The British lender is set to axe 22,000-25,000 full-time jobs, about 10% of its workforce, and cut costs by $4.5 billion-$5 billion annually. It will also sell its operations in Turkey and Brazil, and increasing its investments in Asia. Bloomberg
Tokyo shares retreat to a three-week low. The Nikkei ended down 1.76%, the lowest closing level since May 19. The index opened weaker following Wall Street’s decline overnight, but losses piled up in the afternoon session after a government report showed that consumer confidence fell slightly in May to a seasonally-adjusted 41.4 from 41.5 in April, and below the 41.9 forecast. Asian Nikkei Review/RTTNews
Chinese shares drop ahead of MSCI index announcement. Whether or not MSCI will include China’s “A” shares in its Emerging Market Index has become moot on Tuesday’s session, as investors focused on the weak economic data including the easing consumer inflation. The Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.4%, while the CSI300 index lost 0.7%. Both indexes soared to fresh seven-year highs on Monday. Reuters
Japan IPOs to rise. The number of IPOs will reach 43 in the first half of the year, the highest in eight years for the six-month period, and up 60% versus the same timeframe in 2014. The growth rate, though, is expected to grind slower in the second half of this year. Nikkei Asian Review
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