Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 1.41%, Shanghai Composite up 0.94%, Hang Seng up 0.86%, ASX down 0.31%
- Commodities : Gold at $1316.25 (+0.17%), Silver at $15.72 (+0.17%), Brent Oil at $63.05 (+1.01%), WTI Oil at $53.64 (+1.02%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 2.695, UK 10-year yield at 1.184, Germany 10-year yield at 0.132
News & Data:
- (NZD) Official Cash Rate 1.75% vs 1.75% expected
- (JPY) PPI y/y 0.60% vs 1.00% expected
- (AUD) Westpac Consumer Sentiment 4.30% vs -4.70% previous
- (USD) JOLTS Job Openings 7.34M vs 6.84M expected
- (JPY) Prelim Machine Tool Orders y/y -18.80% vs -18.30% previous
- (JPY) Tertiary Industry Activity m/m -0.30% vs -0.10% expected
- China President Xi Jinping to meet top US delegation on Friday in pursuit of trade war deal, sources say
- Fed’s George says she backed pausing rate hikes in order to assess impact
- RBNZ’s Orr: If growth doesn’t pick up, rate cut may be needed
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are mostly higher on Wednesday following the overnight rally on Wall Street amid optimism about U.S.-China trade talks and as the surge in crude oil prices boosted energy stocks. Investor sentiment was boosted after U.S. President Donald Trump said he is open to extending a March 1 deadline to raise tariffs on Chinese products if the U.S. and China are close to reaching a trade deal.
The mainland Chinese markets were mostly higher in early trade. The Shenzhen component rose 1.2 percent and the Shanghai composite gained 0.9 percent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 extended its gains from the previous session, rising 1.4 percent as the Topix index advanced 0. 9 percent.
South Korea’s Kospi also gained 0.4 percent. The ASX 200 in Australia shed its earlier gains to slip 0.3 percent in afternoon trade.The dollar index stood at 96.697 after its eight-day winning run came to an end overnight to push it away from a two-month peak.
Oil prices surged on Tuesday after OPEC figures showed it cut production sharply in January, and as lead member Saudi Arabia said it would reduce its output in March by an additional 500,000 barrels.
Upcoming Events:
- 10:30 AM GMT – (GBP) CPI y/y
- 10:30 AM GMT – (GBP) PPI Input m/m
- 10:30 AM GMT – (GBP) RPI y/y
- 02:30 PM GMT – (USD) CPI m/m
- 02:30 PM GMT – (USD) Core CPI m/m
- 08:10 PM GMT – (NZD) RBNZ Gov Orr Speaks
- &more…
