Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 0.26%, Shanghai Composite down 0.34%, Hang Seng down 0.75%, ASX down 0.29%
- Commodities : Gold at $1197.50 (-0.48%), Silver at $14.61 (-0.98%), Brent Oil at $74.61 (-0.23%), WTI Oil at $67.88 (+0.03%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 2.814, UK 10-year yield at 1.267, Germany 10-year yield at 0.340
News & Data:
- (USD) Crude Oil Inventories -5.8M vs -1.6M expected
- (USD) Existing Home Sales 5.34M vs 5.40M expected
- (CAD) Retail Sales m/m -0.20% vs -0.10% expected
- (CAD) Core Retail Sales m/m -0.10% vs -0.10% expected
- China to file complaint with WTO – Commerce Ministry
- U.S., China Set Additional Tariffs Of 25 Percent On $16 BLN Worth Of Each Other's Goods
- Populist Shock: Aussie Dollar Tumbles After PM Turnbull Loses Cabinet Support
Markets Update:
Asian stocks are trading mostly lower on Thursday as a deadline loomed for fresh U.S. tariffs on China. U.S. and Chinese officials resumed trade talks on Wednesday, but a breakthrough is unlikely after U.S. President Donald Trump said he didn't anticipate much from the discussions.
New U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods will be imposed during Asian hours. Markets are also rife with speculation that U.S. President Donald Trump’s political position could be threatened by the legal woes of two former advisers. Moody’s cited the U.S.-led trade war as a risk to global growth with emerging markets already battling high oil prices and a tightening of financial conditions.
The Greater China markets were in negative territory. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down by 0.75 percent, with the materials sector declining 1.54 percent. The Shanghai composite was down by 0.34 percent while the Shenzhen composite reversed its earlier gains to trade lower by 0.15 percent.
Japan's Nikkei index was rising 0.2 percent as the yen weakened against the dollar, helping lift companies with overseas earnings. Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was moving down 0.3 percent, dragged down by banks as renewed political uncertainty clouded the economic outlook. The future of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was in question after several senior ministers tendered their resignations on Thursday.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, gained after minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting showed the U.S. central bank was on course to further hike rates. In commodities, Brent crude, the international benchmark, was flat at $74.78. U.S. crude gained 11 cents to $67.97. U.S. gold futures for December delivery fell 0.5 percent while spot gold dipped 0.4 percent to $1,190.5 an ounce.
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