Global Markets:
- Asian stock markets: Nikkei down 0.69%, Shanghai Composite down 0.66%, Hang Seng down 0.15%, ASX up 0.15%
- Commodities: Gold at $1349.80 (+0.14%), Silver at $17.17 (+0.06%), WTI Oil at $66.11 (+0.47%), Brent Oil at $69.85 (+0.29%)
- Rates: US 10-year yield at 2.790, UK 10-year yield at 1.533, German 10-year yield at 0.726
News & Data:
- (USD) ISM Manufacturing PMI 59.1 vs 58.7 expected
- (USD) Unemployment Claims 230K vs 237K expected
- (USD) Prelim Unit Labor Costs q/q 2.00% vs 0.90% expected
- (USD) Prelim Nonfarm Productivity q/q -0.10% vs 0.80% expected
- (GBP) Manufacturing PMI 55.3 vs 56.5 expected
- (CNY) Caixin Manufacturing PMI 51.5 vs 51.5 expected
- (AUD) Building Approvals m/m -20.00% vs -7.90% expected
- UK businesses seek opportunities in China after Brexit
- PBOC sets the Yuan reference rate at 6.2885
Markets Update:
Following a day of much anticipated results on Wall Street, Asian markets traded lower today. Nikkei has not been helped recently by a weaker yen. Earnings from ANA and Nomura disappointed in their earnings, dragging Nikkei with them.
Apple disappointed, and the negative sentiment has been dragging Asian tech stocks, led by Samsung. Apple reported a slight drop in iPhone sales in the three months through December and gave a downbeat revenue forecast for the current quarter.
Chinese equities traded weaker, with volatility rising on liquidity concerns – even as the PBoC continues to drain liquidity by skipping OMOs. Financials on ASX have been pulling the index up, the prospect of higher yields driving them.
With 10 year Treasuries at a 4 year high, regional yields have also been on the rise. Following a weak session, the dollar seems to have stabilized against the majors. BoJ has raised it’s purchases of 5-10 year bonds, in a bid to cap yields. It has also offered to buy JGBs at a fixed 0.11% rate.
Bitcoin prices remain below $9,000, after first breaching that level in U.S. trading Thursday for the first time in more than two months. Prices are 13% below day-earlier levels for the volatile cryptocurrency.
Upcoming Events:
- 08:00 AM GMT – (EUR) Spanish Unemployment Change
- 09:30 AM GMT – (GBP) Construction PMI
- 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Average Hourly Earnings m/m
- 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Non-Farm Employment Change
- 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Unemployment Rate
- 03:00 PM GMT – (USD) Revised UoM Consumer Sentiment
- 07:30 PM GMT – (USD) FOMC Member Williams Speaks
- &more…
