Asian stocks inched up on Friday, after a surge in oil prices helped propel Wall Street to record highs overnight, while Chinese economic indicators that missed expectations did not dent gains in mainland shares. 
 
MSCI&#39;s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan nudged up 0.2 per cent. It was on track to gain 1.9 per cent for the week. 
 
Both China&#39;s CSI300 index and the Shanghai Composite rose about 0.5 pe rcent after fixed asset investment, retail sales and industrial output all rose but were below expectations. Both indexes were headed for gains of about 1.4 per cent for the week. 
 
Fixed asset investment from January to July increased by 8.1 per cent from a year earlier, the slowest rate in more than 16 years, compared with expectations for 8.8 per cent. 
 
July retail sales increased 10.2 per cent, versus 10.6 per cent the previous month and a forecast 10.5 per cent. Industrial output rose 6.0 per cent from a year earlier, slowing from June&#39;s 6.2 per cent and just missing forecasts of 6.1 per cent. 
 
Hong Kong shares rose 0.7 per cent and were at their highest in more than eight months. 
 
Japan&#39;s Nikkei rose 0.7 per cent on a slightly weaker yen, and is poised to end the week 3.7 per cent higher. 
 
South Korea&#39;s Kospi, which touched the highest level since July 2015, was little changed. Australian stocks gained 0.3 per cent. 
 
The S&amp;P 500, the Dow and Nasdaq all closed at historic highs on Thursday for the first time since 1999 on higher crude oil and upbeat corporate results. 
 
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 stock index also jumped, climbing 0.85 per cent to its highest close since late May. 
 
MSCI&#39;s 46-country All World index held close to a one-year high touched overnight. 
 
Supporting investor appetite for risk, oil prices climbed more than 4 per cent overnight after a Saudi oil minister hinted at possible action to stabilise prices and triggered a round of buying. 
 
They retained that momentum on Friday, with US crude futures up 0.5 per cent at $43.72 a barrel, on track to gain 4.5 per cent on the week. 
 
Global benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.3 per cent to $46.18, set to end the week 4.6 per cent higher. 
 
&quot;Asia Pacific markets are set to finish the week on a high following strong leads from European and US investors,&quot; wrote Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets. 
 
&quot;Industrial commodities rose, led by oil, and overnight trading displayed &#39;risk on&#39; characteristics despite the lack of an obvious trigger. Important data from China may change the course of the trading day.&quot; 
 
Global markets will also sift through the string of US data, notably retail sales, due later in the session for latest cues about the world&#39;s largest economy and whether it is robust enough to withstand further monetary tightening. 
 
US retail sales are expected to show a 0.4 per cent monthly increase in July, according to the median estimate of 64 economists polled by Reuters. 
 
In currencies, the dollar rose after San Francisco Fed President John Williams told the Washington Post that the US central bank should raise rates this year because of improving labour market conditions and the likelihood that inflation is heading higher. 
 
The greenback inched up 0.1 per cent to 102.035 yen after gaining 0.7 per cent on Thursday, and is heading for a 0.25 per cent weekly rise. The euro was steady at $1.11375 after losing 0.3 per cent overnight. 
 
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major peers, rose 0.1 per cent to 95.924, but was on track for a loss of 0.3 per cent for the week. 
 
The New Zealand dollar slipped 0.1 per cent to $0.7202 after surging on Thursday to $0.7351, its highest in more than a year after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand cut rates by 25 basis points to 2.0 per cent, a smaller cut than some investors had expected. 
 
The Australian dollar dipped 0.3 per cent to $0.7678 . 
 
(Reuters) 
 
 
&nbsp;

Hong Kong shares rose 0.7 per cent and were at their highest in eight months,?Japan's Nikkei rose 0.7 per cent on a slightly weaker Yen

Asian stocks inched up on Friday, after a surge in oil prices helped propel Wall Street to record highs overnight, while Chinese economic indicators that missed expectations did not dent gains in mainland shares. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan nudged up 0.2 per cent. It was on track to gain 1.9 per cent for the week. Both China's CSI300 index and the Shanghai Composite rose about 0.5 pe rcent after fixed asset investment, retail sales and industrial output all rose but were below expectations. Both indexes were headed for gains of about 1.4 per cent for the week. Fixed asset investment from January to July increased by 8.1 per cent from a year earlier, the slowest rate in more than 16 years, compared with expectations for 8.8 per cent. July retail sales increased 10.2 per cent, versus 10.6 per cent the previous month and a forecast 10.5 per cent. Industrial output rose 6.0 per cent from a year earlier, slowing from June's 6.2 per cent and just missing forecasts of 6.1 per cent. Hong Kong shares rose 0.7 per cent and were at their highest in more than eight months. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.7 per cent on a slightly weaker yen, and is poised to end the week 3.7 per cent higher. South Korea's Kospi, which touched the highest level since July 2015, was little changed. Australian stocks gained 0.3 per cent. The S&P 500, the Dow and Nasdaq all closed at historic highs on Thursday for the first time since 1999 on higher crude oil and upbeat corporate results. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 stock index also jumped, climbing 0.85 per cent to its highest close since late May. MSCI's 46-country All World index held close to a one-year high touched overnight. Supporting investor appetite for risk, oil prices climbed more than 4 per cent overnight after a Saudi oil minister hinted at possible action to stabilise prices and triggered a round of buying. They retained that momentum on Friday, with US crude futures up 0.5 per cent at $43.72 a barrel, on track to gain 4.5 per cent on the week. Global benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.3 per cent to $46.18, set to end the week 4.6 per cent higher. "Asia Pacific markets are set to finish the week on a high following strong leads from European and US investors," wrote Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets. "Industrial commodities rose, led by oil, and overnight trading displayed 'risk on' characteristics despite the lack of an obvious trigger. Important data from China may change the course of the trading day." Global markets will also sift through the string of US data, notably retail sales, due later in the session for latest cues about the world's largest economy and whether it is robust enough to withstand further monetary tightening. US retail sales are expected to show a 0.4 per cent monthly increase in July, according to the median estimate of 64 economists polled by Reuters. In currencies, the dollar rose after San Francisco Fed President John Williams told the Washington Post that the US central bank should raise rates this year because of improving labour market conditions and the likelihood that inflation is heading higher. The greenback inched up 0.1 per cent to 102.035 yen after gaining 0.7 per cent on Thursday, and is heading for a 0.25 per cent weekly rise. The euro was steady at $1.11375 after losing 0.3 per cent overnight. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major peers, rose 0.1 per cent to 95.924, but was on track for a loss of 0.3 per cent for the week. The New Zealand dollar slipped 0.1 per cent to $0.7202 after surging on Thursday to $0.7351, its highest in more than a year after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand cut rates by 25 basis points to 2.0 per cent, a smaller cut than some investors had expected. The Australian dollar dipped 0.3 per cent to $0.7678 . (Reuters)

Asia rises on Wall Street's record highs while China data misses forecasts

World stocks hit a new one-year high today, while the dollar and benchmark government bond yields sank and precious metals rose after weak US productivity data again pushed back expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike. 
 
Wall Street was expected to grind fractionally higher when it resumes, with jobs and housing market data on the agenda. 
 
Europe&#39;s main bourses were struggling with modest 0.3-0.4 per cent losses due to weak company results, although the MSCI&#39;s 46-country All World index remained positive after overnight Asian gains. 
 
With the focus on signs of pressure in the United States economy, demand for bonds firmed again, a factor already highlighted on Tuesday by the Bank of England&#39;s failure to prise enough debt from investors to meet its revamped bond-buying plan.. 
 
US Treasury yields dropped to 1.536 per cent in Europe, while Germany&#39;s 10-year bonds yield fell 1.4 basis points to minus 0.16 per cent as Berlin sold 4 billion Euros of bond at a new record low average yield of -0.09 per cent. 
 
The 10-year UK gilt yield also sank to a record low of 0.54 per cent in the wake of the BoE&#39;s bond buying issues. 
 
&quot;Central banks look increasingly accommodative and no one seems to be going against that trend ... which supports all asset prices,&quot; said Anton Heese, head of European rates strategy at Morgan Stanley in London. 
 
&quot;The growth prospects for the US economy are probably weaker than many anticipate.&quot; 
 
The bond moves had a clear impact on currencies, with the Dollar index, which tracks the US greenback against a basket of other top currencies, seeing its biggest drop in over a week, falling 0.65 per cent to 95.559. 
 
That in turn sent the Euro up 0.6 per cent to $1.1186, extending its recovery from Friday&#39;s one-week low of $1.1046. The Yen climbed to 101.20 per dollar and even the recently buffeted UK pound made ground. 
 
&quot;The release of the third consecutive decline in quarterly US productivity, the worst run since at least 1980, does not bode well for the prospects for the Dollar,&quot; Morgan Stanley head of currency strategy, Hans Redeker, said. 
 
 
Good as gold 
 
The Australian Dollar advanced to a more than three-month peak of $0.7729, having been buoyed this week by Australia&#39;s relatively high yields and stronger investor risk appetite. 
 
&quot;Part of the Australian dollar&#39;s resilience is the lack of follow-through in pricing for a Fed hike in September, limiting the US dollar&#39;s gains,&quot; analysts at Westpac said in a note. They recommended investors buy the Australian Dollar. 
 
The US dollar&#39;s weakness gave gold a lift, with the precious metal gaining 0.9 per cent to $1,352.26 an ounce. 
 
Palladium jumped more than 7 per cent to a 14-month high at one point as bets on lower prices were reversed after the metal, which is used in car catalytic converters among other things, broke above key chart levels. It surged nearly 20 per cent last month in its biggest one-month rise in 8-1/2 years. 
 
That may mean investors who had bet on lower prices could be exposed to heavy losses. 
 
&quot;You can talk about fundamental explanations, strong car sales, a reduction in supply from Russia, but those didn&#39;t happen overnight,&quot; Macquarie analyst Matthew Turner said. 
 
Oil prices slipped for a second straight day as top producer Saudi Arabia revealed its output hit a record 10.67 million barrels per day last month. It came after data had also shown a surprise US crude stockpile build. 
 
Brent futures fell as much as 1.5 per cent to $44.30 per barrel before recovering to $44.95. US crude also slipped 0.4 per cent to $42.62, extending Tuesday&#39;s 0.6 per cent decline. 
 
Emerging market stocks showed little reaction to the crude moves as they rose for a fifth straight day with many EM currencies also strengthening following the dollar&#39;s sell-off. 
 
MSCI&#39;s emerging market index hit a new one-year high as gains across Asia and other markets such as Greece and the Czech Republic helped extend its rise this month to over 3.5 per cent. 
 
(Reuters)

The US Dollar's weakness gave gold a lift, with the precious metal gaining 0.9 per cent to $1,352.26 an ounce

World stocks hit a new one-year high today, while the dollar and benchmark government bond yields sank and precious metals rose after weak US productivity data again pushed back expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike. Wall Street was expected to grind fractionally higher when it resumes, with jobs and housing market data on the agenda. Europe's main bourses were struggling with modest 0.3-0.4 per cent losses due to weak company results, although the MSCI's 46-country All World index remained positive after overnight Asian gains. With the focus on signs of pressure in the United States economy, demand for bonds firmed again, a factor already highlighted on Tuesday by the Bank of England's failure to prise enough debt from investors to meet its revamped bond-buying plan.. US Treasury yields dropped to 1.536 per cent in Europe, while Germany's 10-year bonds yield fell 1.4 basis points to minus 0.16 per cent as Berlin sold 4 billion Euros of bond at a new record low average yield of -0.09 per cent. The 10-year UK gilt yield also sank to a record low of 0.54 per cent in the wake of the BoE's bond buying issues. "Central banks look increasingly accommodative and no one seems to be going against that trend ... which supports all asset prices," said Anton Heese, head of European rates strategy at Morgan Stanley in London. "The growth prospects for the US economy are probably weaker than many anticipate." The bond moves had a clear impact on currencies, with the Dollar index, which tracks the US greenback against a basket of other top currencies, seeing its biggest drop in over a week, falling 0.65 per cent to 95.559. That in turn sent the Euro up 0.6 per cent to $1.1186, extending its recovery from Friday's one-week low of $1.1046. The Yen climbed to 101.20 per dollar and even the recently buffeted UK pound made ground. "The release of the third consecutive decline in quarterly US productivity, the worst run since at least 1980, does not bode well for the prospects for the Dollar," Morgan Stanley head of currency strategy, Hans Redeker, said. Good as gold The Australian Dollar advanced to a more than three-month peak of $0.7729, having been buoyed this week by Australia's relatively high yields and stronger investor risk appetite. "Part of the Australian dollar's resilience is the lack of follow-through in pricing for a Fed hike in September, limiting the US dollar's gains," analysts at Westpac said in a note. They recommended investors buy the Australian Dollar. The US dollar's weakness gave gold a lift, with the precious metal gaining 0.9 per cent to $1,352.26 an ounce. Palladium jumped more than 7 per cent to a 14-month high at one point as bets on lower prices were reversed after the metal, which is used in car catalytic converters among other things, broke above key chart levels. It surged nearly 20 per cent last month in its biggest one-month rise in 8-1/2 years. That may mean investors who had bet on lower prices could be exposed to heavy losses. "You can talk about fundamental explanations, strong car sales, a reduction in supply from Russia, but those didn't happen overnight," Macquarie analyst Matthew Turner said. Oil prices slipped for a second straight day as top producer Saudi Arabia revealed its output hit a record 10.67 million barrels per day last month. It came after data had also shown a surprise US crude stockpile build. Brent futures fell as much as 1.5 per cent to $44.30 per barrel before recovering to $44.95. US crude also slipped 0.4 per cent to $42.62, extending Tuesday's 0.6 per cent decline. Emerging market stocks showed little reaction to the crude moves as they rose for a fifth straight day with many EM currencies also strengthening following the dollar's sell-off. MSCI's emerging market index hit a new one-year high as gains across Asia and other markets such as Greece and the Czech Republic helped extend its rise this month to over 3.5 per cent. (Reuters)

World stocks hit 1-year high as US data saps dollar, bond yields

US stocks traded near record highs today morning as a rise in technology stocks added to the lift from steadying oil prices. 
 
Oil edged further above $45 on estimates of a drop in US inventories and speculation of producer action to freeze output. 
 
&quot;Today, it seems like whatever oil does, equities will follow,&quot; said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial in New York. 
 
The S&amp;P 500 index&#39;s technology index rose 0.17 per cent, helped by gains in Cisco, which rose 0.7 per cent after Citigroup raised its price target. The stock gave the biggest boost to the S&amp;P and the Nasdaq. 
 
Microchip Tech soared 9.4 per cent to $61.980 after the company&#39;s first-quarter revenue beat analysts&#39; estimate. 
 
A forecast-beating payrolls report on Friday has helped bring back some of the risk-on mode in the markets. Safe havens gold and the Japanese yen were lower today. 
 
At 9.42 a.m. ET (1342 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 29.2 points, or 0.16 per cent, at 18,558.49. 
 
The S&amp;P 500 was up 2.26 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 2,183.15, just 2 points shy of its 2,185.44 record high. 
 
The Nasdaq Composite was up 9.67 points, or 0.19 per cent, at 5,222.81. 
 
Seven of the 10 major S&amp;P 500 indexes were higher, led by a 0.28 per cent rise in the materials sector. 
 
Valeant jumped 11.67 per cent after the company maintained its full-year forecast and said it was evaluating alternatives for its non-core business and geographies. 
 
Endo International surged 10.5 per cent to $20.12 after the drugmaker&#39;s second-quarter revenue and profit beat estimates. The stock was the top percentage gainer among S&amp;P 500 companies. 
 
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,583 to 1,039. On the Nasdaq, 1,393 issues rose and 908 fell. 
 
The S&amp;P 500 index showed 18 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 41 new highs and eight new lows. 
 
(Reuters)

Oil edged further above $45 on estimates of a drop in US inventories

US stocks traded near record highs today morning as a rise in technology stocks added to the lift from steadying oil prices. Oil edged further above $45 on estimates of a drop in US inventories and speculation of producer action to freeze output. "Today, it seems like whatever oil does, equities will follow," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial in New York. The S&P 500 index's technology index rose 0.17 per cent, helped by gains in Cisco, which rose 0.7 per cent after Citigroup raised its price target. The stock gave the biggest boost to the S&P and the Nasdaq. Microchip Tech soared 9.4 per cent to $61.980 after the company's first-quarter revenue beat analysts' estimate. A forecast-beating payrolls report on Friday has helped bring back some of the risk-on mode in the markets. Safe havens gold and the Japanese yen were lower today. At 9.42 a.m. ET (1342 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 29.2 points, or 0.16 per cent, at 18,558.49. The S&P 500 was up 2.26 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 2,183.15, just 2 points shy of its 2,185.44 record high. The Nasdaq Composite was up 9.67 points, or 0.19 per cent, at 5,222.81. Seven of the 10 major S&P 500 indexes were higher, led by a 0.28 per cent rise in the materials sector. Valeant jumped 11.67 per cent after the company maintained its full-year forecast and said it was evaluating alternatives for its non-core business and geographies. Endo International surged 10.5 per cent to $20.12 after the drugmaker's second-quarter revenue and profit beat estimates. The stock was the top percentage gainer among S&P 500 companies. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,583 to 1,039. On the Nasdaq, 1,393 issues rose and 908 fell. The S&P 500 index showed 18 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 41 new highs and eight new lows. (Reuters)

Wall Street near record highs as oil, tech stocks lift

Britain&#39;s new finance minister Philip Hammond, under pressure from his peers from around the world, said today there could be more clarity later this year on how the country will exit the European Union. 
 
Several nations called on Britain during weekend talks on the world economy to explain how the politically fraught Brexit process will unfold in order to avoid adding a new drag on the long and slow recovery from the financial crisis. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s right at the top of the agenda here at the G20,&quot; Hammond said at the end of the two-day meeting of the Group of 20 leading economies in the Chinese city of Chengdu. &quot;It&#39;s a new factor affecting the global economic outlook and it has increased the uncertainty which the world economy faces.&quot; 
 
Britain was plunged into its biggest political crisis in decades by the June 23 Brexit vote and so far it has resisted calls from some other EU countries to trigger quickly the two-year process for negotiating its exit from the bloc. 
 
Prime Minister Theresa May, who has been in her job for less than two weeks, traveled to Germany and France last week to explain why she needed time to come up with an exit strategy. 
 
The EU&#39;s top economic official, Pierre Moscovici, said the bloc understood that Britain should not be rushed but &quot;at the same time let&#39;s not waste time, let&#39;s not have too much uncertainty, let&#39;s act and choose as swiftly as possible.&quot; 
 
Hammond told reporters today the two-year negotiating period, once launched, represented &quot;quite a tight timescale&quot; and Britain needed to go into it with clear objectives. &quot;We have to do that before the start of the process because when we serve that notice, we need to hit the ground running,&quot; he said. 
 
But Hammond also showed he was aware of the need for some clarity on Brexit: &quot;What will start to reduce uncertainty is when we are able to set out more clearly the kind of arrangement we envisage going forward with the European Union.&quot; 
 
&quot;If our European Union partners respond to such a vision positively - obviously it will be subject to negotiation - so that there is a sense perhaps later this year that we are all on the same page in terms of where we expect to be going, I think that will send a reassuring signal to the business community and to markets,&quot; Hammond said. 
 
May has said she does not plan to launch the formal negotiation period this year. It remains to be seen if other EU countries would enter informal talks with Britain before the formal negotiations, something they have previously ruled out. 
 
Govt, Bank of England have to be ready 
 
Financial markets have stabilised after the initial shock of the referendum result which saw the value of the pound plunge by more than 10 per cent and trillions of dollars wiped off stock markets worldwide. But economists are expecting Britain to fall into a recession, according to a Reuters poll. 
 
Hammond said he did not think that a survey of British businesses published on Friday, which showed the sharpest fall on record in a purchasing managers index, was a sign that the economy was in already in a recession. 
 
&quot;What it does is underscore the hit to confidence,&quot; he said. 
 
Hammond warned that Brexit-related volatility in markets would be a risk throughout the two-year negotiation period. 
 
&quot;We have to be ready as government, the Bank of England has to be ready as monetary authority, throughout that period to respond to any instability created by that uncertainty and to ensure that the economy continues to operate smoothly,&quot; he said. 
 
The BoE is expected to cut interest rates and possibly announce more stimulus measures on August 4. Hammond has said he could ease fiscal policy in the autumn if more help is needed. 
 
Asked about a comment he made on Friday, that he might &quot;reset&quot; fiscal policy to cope with the Brexit fallout, Hammond said Britain&#39;s still high levels of debt meant it needed a new framework on its public finances to give clarity to markets. 
 
&quot;What that framework will look like will depend on the decisions we make about whether or not any fiscal stimulus is required on the basis of the data we will by then have available,&quot; he said. 
 
(Reuters)

Britain's finance minister accepted the need for some clarity on Brexit, said it's at the top of agenda at the G20

Britain's new finance minister Philip Hammond, under pressure from his peers from around the world, said today there could be more clarity later this year on how the country will exit the European Union. Several nations called on Britain during weekend talks on the world economy to explain how the politically fraught Brexit process will unfold in order to avoid adding a new drag on the long and slow recovery from the financial crisis. "It's right at the top of the agenda here at the G20," Hammond said at the end of the two-day meeting of the Group of 20 leading economies in the Chinese city of Chengdu. "It's a new factor affecting the global economic outlook and it has increased the uncertainty which the world economy faces." Britain was plunged into its biggest political crisis in decades by the June 23 Brexit vote and so far it has resisted calls from some other EU countries to trigger quickly the two-year process for negotiating its exit from the bloc. Prime Minister Theresa May, who has been in her job for less than two weeks, traveled to Germany and France last week to explain why she needed time to come up with an exit strategy. The EU's top economic official, Pierre Moscovici, said the bloc understood that Britain should not be rushed but "at the same time let's not waste time, let's not have too much uncertainty, let's act and choose as swiftly as possible." Hammond told reporters today the two-year negotiating period, once launched, represented "quite a tight timescale" and Britain needed to go into it with clear objectives. "We have to do that before the start of the process because when we serve that notice, we need to hit the ground running," he said. But Hammond also showed he was aware of the need for some clarity on Brexit: "What will start to reduce uncertainty is when we are able to set out more clearly the kind of arrangement we envisage going forward with the European Union." "If our European Union partners respond to such a vision positively - obviously it will be subject to negotiation - so that there is a sense perhaps later this year that we are all on the same page in terms of where we expect to be going, I think that will send a reassuring signal to the business community and to markets," Hammond said. May has said she does not plan to launch the formal negotiation period this year. It remains to be seen if other EU countries would enter informal talks with Britain before the formal negotiations, something they have previously ruled out. Govt, Bank of England have to be ready Financial markets have stabilised after the initial shock of the referendum result which saw the value of the pound plunge by more than 10 per cent and trillions of dollars wiped off stock markets worldwide. But economists are expecting Britain to fall into a recession, according to a Reuters poll. Hammond said he did not think that a survey of British businesses published on Friday, which showed the sharpest fall on record in a purchasing managers index, was a sign that the economy was in already in a recession. "What it does is underscore the hit to confidence," he said. Hammond warned that Brexit-related volatility in markets would be a risk throughout the two-year negotiation period. "We have to be ready as government, the Bank of England has to be ready as monetary authority, throughout that period to respond to any instability created by that uncertainty and to ensure that the economy continues to operate smoothly," he said. The BoE is expected to cut interest rates and possibly announce more stimulus measures on August 4. Hammond has said he could ease fiscal policy in the autumn if more help is needed. Asked about a comment he made on Friday, that he might "reset" fiscal policy to cope with the Brexit fallout, Hammond said Britain's still high levels of debt meant it needed a new framework on its public finances to give clarity to markets. "What that framework will look like will depend on the decisions we make about whether or not any fiscal stimulus is required on the basis of the data we will by then have available," he said. (Reuters)

UK seeks to assuage global worries over path to Brexit

Increased technology usage and digitisation of the economy have escalated cyberattacks in India, and nearly 70 per cent of Nifty 50 companies are vulnerable to hackers, reveals a PwC survey. 
 
According to the report, out of the 50 companies studied, 34 (or 68 per cent) had identified vulnerabilities in at least one or more of their Internet-facing properties. 
 
The PwC survey about transgressions in Indian cyberspace of these companies further said, 525 email addresses belonging to the 34 companies were compromised, meaning hackers had access to those email addresses. 
 
&quot;Cybersecurity is no more restricted to Chief Information Officers (CIOs) or Chief Security Officers (CSOs) but needs serious attention of the higher management,&quot; Sivarama Krishnan, the leader of cyber security at PwC India said. 
 
Furthermore, 200 IP addresses belonging to the 34 companies were blacklisted by various Internet Service Providers (ISPs), implying that the ISPs found these IPs to be involved in spreading malicious traffic on the Internet, sending spam emails, or acting as a botnet in large cyber attacks, the report noted. 
 
&quot;There is a perceptible shift in the way modern threats are carried out, and the types of responses needed, and the surge in cyber crimes, manifests how these attackers are extensively-equipped with resources besides having a high technical skill set,&quot; Krishnan added. 
 
Sectorwise, media &amp; entertainment, automobiles, consumer goods and energy had the highest number of vulnerabilities. 
 
&quot;Hackers today are just not the tech enthusiasts, but are more sophisticated and organised in their approach to probe their targets and companies need to, more than ever before, adopt sophisticated security analytical tools to prevent such crimes,&quot; Krishnan said. 
 
According to the report, transgressions in Indian cyberspace have more than doubled over the past year to 6,284 incidents per respondent. The average number of attacks in India is fast catching up with the global average of 6,853 incidents per respondent. 
(PTI)

Transgressions in Indian cyberspace have more than doubled over the past year, a PricewaterhouseCoopers report says

Increased technology usage and digitisation of the economy have escalated cyberattacks in India, and nearly 70 per cent of Nifty 50 companies are vulnerable to hackers, reveals a PwC survey. According to the report, out of the 50 companies studied, 34 (or 68 per cent) had identified vulnerabilities in at least one or more of their Internet-facing properties. The PwC survey about transgressions in Indian cyberspace of these companies further said, 525 email addresses belonging to the 34 companies were compromised, meaning hackers had access to those email addresses. "Cybersecurity is no more restricted to Chief Information Officers (CIOs) or Chief Security Officers (CSOs) but needs serious attention of the higher management," Sivarama Krishnan, the leader of cyber security at PwC India said. Furthermore, 200 IP addresses belonging to the 34 companies were blacklisted by various Internet Service Providers (ISPs), implying that the ISPs found these IPs to be involved in spreading malicious traffic on the Internet, sending spam emails, or acting as a botnet in large cyber attacks, the report noted. "There is a perceptible shift in the way modern threats are carried out, and the types of responses needed, and the surge in cyber crimes, manifests how these attackers are extensively-equipped with resources besides having a high technical skill set," Krishnan added. Sectorwise, media & entertainment, automobiles, consumer goods and energy had the highest number of vulnerabilities. "Hackers today are just not the tech enthusiasts, but are more sophisticated and organised in their approach to probe their targets and companies need to, more than ever before, adopt sophisticated security analytical tools to prevent such crimes," Krishnan said. According to the report, transgressions in Indian cyberspace have more than doubled over the past year to 6,284 incidents per respondent. The average number of attacks in India is fast catching up with the global average of 6,853 incidents per respondent. (PTI)

Rising cyberattacks affect majority of India's big companies

stock-market

Stock Market, News on Stock Market, stories on Stock Market, articles on Stock Market, Stock Market stories at Wion, Stock Market news, Stock Market latest news