Delta blow knocks wind out of Asia's economic recovery – Reuters

According to the latest Reuters report, Asia's robust economic recovery from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is losing momentum amid a surge in the Delta covid variant cases, dimming prospects for corporate profit growth.

Key takeaways

“Asia's biggest firms are likely to post their first quarter-on-quarter profit decline in six quarters in July-September, falling 6.19%, showed a Reuters calculation based on Refinitiv Eikon analyst data of 1,069 companies with market capitalization of at least $1 billion.”

“In Southeast Asia, soaring COVID-19 cases and subsequent lockdown measures have hit economic activity in both the services and manufacturing sectors.”

“Factory activity in the region contracted in July at the fastest pace since June last year, IHS Markit data showed.”