Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 0.13%, Shanghai Composite up 0.18%, Hang Seng up 0.13%, ASX up 0.59%
- Commodities: Gold at $1417.35 (-0.25%), Silver at $15.27 (-0.44%), Brent Oil at $63.18 (-0.19%), WTI Oil at $56.69 (-1.13%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 1.941, UK 10-year yield at 0.675, Germany 10-year yield at -0.400
News & Data:
- (AUD) Retail Sales m/m 0.10% vs 0.20% expected
- UK firms, waiting for Brexit, turn more gloomy about economy: survey
- S. job growth seen accelerating, rate cut still expected
Markets Update:
Asian shares hovered near two-month highs on Friday as investors braced for U.S. employment data, a key release that could stoke or temper market expectations about aggressive policy easing by the Federal Reserve.
Trade across global markets was expected to remain subdued following the Independence Day holiday in the United States on Thursday and ahead of the non-farm payrolls report. The Fed and Australia’s central bank are embarking on easier monetary policy. In the euro zone, financial markets expect the bloc’s central bank to lay out the landscape for further monetary easing at its July 25 meeting.
Asian shares are trading nearly flat on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 is trading at 0.13% gains. The country’s household spending grew 4.0% in May from a year earlier thanks to Japan’s 10-day holiday, government data showed on Friday. Chinese shares were mixed with Shanghai Composite up 0.2%. Australia shares are a tad higher at 0.59% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index is almost flat at 0.13%.
The yields on U.S. 10-year Treasuries hit their lowest since November 2016 at 1.946%. The currency market was mostly side-lined ahead of the U.S. jobs figures. The dollar index was steady at 96.762.
In commodity markets, oil prices fell on Friday as concerns over the outlook for global economic growth outweighed elevated tensions in the Middle East. Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices is flat at $63.2 per barrel while U.S. crude eased 61 cents to $56.69. Spot gold is higher at $1,417.36 an ounce.
Upcoming Events:
- 1:30pm GMT – (CAD) Employment Change
- 1:30pm GMT – (CAD) Unemployment Rate
- 1:30pm GMT – (USD) Average Hourly Earnings m/m
- 1:30pm GMT – (USD) Non-Farm Employment Change
- 1:30pm GMT – (USD) Unemployment Rate
- &more…
