Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 0.54%, Shanghai Composite down 0.52%, Hang Seng up 0.51%, ASX down 0.34%
- Commodities : Gold at $1201.50 (+0.13%), Silver at $14.76 (-0.04%), Brent Oil at $72.87 (+0.33%), WTI Oil at $66.15 (+0.47%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 2.826, UK 10-year yield at 1.267, Germany 10-year yield at 0.335
News & Data:
- (AUD) Construction Work Done q/q 1.60% vs 0.70% expected
- (NZD) Core Retail Sales q/q 1.40% vs 0.80% expected
- (NZD) Retail Sales q/q 1.10% vs 0.40% expected
- (NZD) GDT Price Index -3.60% vs 0.00% previous
- (GBP) Public Sector Net Borrowing -`2.9B vs -2.1B expected
- Canada and Mexico deny existence of the handshake NAFTA deal with the US
- Japan central bank may dial back stimulus before price goal met: ex-BOJ Ishida
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are mixed on Wednesday following the positive cues overnight from Wall Street amid optimism over the upcoming U.S.-China trade talks. Meanwhile, news that U.S. President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen has pleaded guilty to federal charges and that former Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort was found guilty by a jury on eight criminal counts weighed on investor sentiment.
The Greater China markets were in negative territory in early trade. The Shanghai composite and Shenzhen composite were lower by 0.5 and 0.7 percent respectively. The Australian market is extending losses from the previous session, despite the positive cues overnight from Wall Street, higher commodity prices and upbeat local corporate earnings results.
Banks and mining stocks are among the leading decliners. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 traded up by 0.5 percent while South Korea's Kospi rose 0.3 percent. But S&P futures turned lower on Wednesday morning as markets assessed the possible impact of a guilty plea from Trump’s former personal lawyer, and the conviction of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies, traded at 95.211. The currency has lagged following Trump’s comments on Monday, in which he also accused China and Europe of manipulating their currencies. The two-year yield, which rises with traders’ expectations of higher Fed fund rates, were at 2.5996 percent Wednesday compared with a U.S. close of 2.608 percent. Oil prices lost some of their gains earlier in the Asian session with U.S. crude gaining 0.29 percent to $66.04 a barrel. Global benchmark Brent was up 0.14 percent at $72.73.
Upcoming Events:
- 01:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Core Retail Sales m/m
- 01:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Retail Sales m/m
- 03:00 PM GMT – (USD) Existing Home Sales
- 03:30 PM GMT – (USD) Crude Oil Inventories
- 07:00 PM GMT – (USD) FOMC Meeting Minutes
