Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 0.68%, Shanghai Composite down 0.51%, Hang Seng down 0.38%, ASX up 0.75%
- Commodities : Gold at $1296.45 (+0.24%), Silver at $14.93 (+0.44%), Brent Oil at $71.06 (+0.32%), WTI Oil at $63.84 (+0.41%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 2.497, UK 10-year yield at 1.151, Germany 10-year yield at -0.012
News & Data:
- (USD) Unemployment Claims 196K vs 210K expected
- (USD) Core PPI m/m 0.30% vs 0.20% expected
- (USD) PPI m/m 0.60% vs 0.30% expected
- Herman Cain expected to withdraw from Fed Reserve Board of Governors consideration
- Fed Chair Jerome Powell says that interest rates are in the right place
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are mixed on Friday following the lackluster cues overnight from Wall Street. Investors turned cautious as they looked ahead to the upcoming corporate earnings season and the release of China’s trade data due later in the day. Lingering uncertainty about the global economic outlook and a potential U.S.-China trade deal also kept investors on the sidelines. Hopes continue to rise for a U.S.-China trade deal. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that China agreed to open its cloud-computing sector to foreign companies in an attempt to sweeten a deal with the U.S.
Mainland Chinese shares were lower by the afternoon, with the Shanghai composite slipping 0.5 percent and the Shenzhen component declining more than 0.8 percent. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped 0.4 percent, as shares of Tencent and AIA fell. Those moves came ahead of the release of Chinese trade data for March, set to be released later on Friday.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 0. 7 percent in afternoon trade, as shares of index heavyweight Fast Retailing soared more than 7 percent. In South Korea, the Kospi rose fractionally as shares of industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics advanced. The ASX 200 in Australia added 0.8 percent, with almost all sectors advancing.
U.S. Treasury yields inched lower amid the cautious retreat in shares, after earlier rising on the U.S. jobless claims data, stronger producer prices and a weak 30-year bond auction. In currency markets, the dollar was up 0.1 percent against the yen at 111.75, but a strong gain in the euro, which jumped 0.36 percent on the day to buy $1.1290, pushed the dollar index down 0.2 percent to 96.979. Traders said demand for the euro jumped among Japanese players amid speculation toward cross-border flows.
Upcoming Events:
- Tentative – (CNY) Trade Balance
- 03:00 PM GMT – (USD) Prelim UoM Consumer Sentiment
- Tentative – (USD) Treasury Currency Report
- &more…
