Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 0.91%, Shanghai Composite down 0.37%, Hang Seng up 1.63%, ASX up 0.11%
- Commodities: Gold at $1502.45 (+0.22%), Silver at $18.30 (+0.61%), Brent Oil at $62.76 (+0.61%), WTI Oil at $57.80 (+0.70%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 1.716, UK 10-year yield at 0.631, Germany 10-year yield at -0.547
News & Data:
- (NZD) Visitor Arrivals m/m 1.30% vs -0.10% previous
- (USD) JOLTS Job Openings 7.22M vs 7.31M expected
- (CAD) Building Permits m/m 3.00% vs 2.10% expected
- (CAD) Housing Starts 227K vs 213K expected
- (USD) NFIB Small Business Index 103.1 vs 103.6 expected
- (GBP) Unemployment Rate 3.80% vs 3.90% expected
- (GBP) Claimant Count Change 28.2K vs 29.3K expected
- (GBP) Average Earnings Index 3m/y 4.00% vs 3.70% expected
- (EUR) Italian Industrial Production m/m -0.70% vs -0.10% expected
- (EUR) French Industrial Production m/m 0.30% vs 0.50% expected
- (JPY) Prelim Machine Tool Orders y/y -37.10% vs -33.00% previous
- (EUR) French Final Private Payrolls q/q 0.20% vs 0.30% expected
- (CNY) PPI y/y -0.80% vs -0.90% expected
- (CNY) CPI y/y 2.80% vs 2.60% expected
- (AUD) NAB Business Confidence 1 vs 4 previous
- (JPY) BSI Manufacturing Index -0.2 vs -7.1 expected
- (AUD) Westpac Consumer Sentiment -1.70% vs 3.60% previous
Markets Update:
Asian markets mostly gained in early trading Wednesday, ahead of expected further monetary easing by the European Central Bank. The ECB is expected to take rates even deeper into negative territory at its Thursday meeting. Policy makers have indicated the ECB could introduce a tiered system of deposits, which would see only a portion of deposits subject to negative rates, which could ease a further hit to the banking sector’s profitability. Investors may also have been encouraged by a lack of bad news on the trade-war front.
Asian stocks mostly drifted higher Wednesday as investors await a handful of central bank meetings. Japan’s Nikkei and Australia’s ASX rose 0.91% and 0.11%, respectively, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 1.63%. But China’s Shanghai Composite Index – Mainland Chinese shares were mainly lower by the afternoon, declining 0.37%.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 98.344 after trading below 98.4 for much of this week. The Japanese yen, often viewed as a safe-haven currency, traded at 107.72 against the dollar following its weakening from levels around 106.8 earlier this week.
Oil prices rose in the afternoon of Asian trading hours following a slip on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he fired national security advisor John Bolton, viewed as a hawk on Iran and North Korea. Gold prices slipped on Wednesday in Asia and remained below the $1,500 level as traders awaited the upcoming European Central Bank (ECB) monthly meeting.
Upcoming Events:
- 12:30 pm GMT – (CAD) Capacity Utilization Rate
- 12:30 pm GMT – (USD) Core PPI m/m
- 12:30 pm GMT – (USD) PPI m/m
- 2:00 pm GMT – (USD) Final Wholesale Inventories m/m
- 2:30 pm GMT – (USD) Crude Oil Inventories
- 5:01 pm GMT – (USD) 10-y Bond Auction
- 10:45 pm GMT – (NZD) FPI m/m
- 11:01 pm GMT – (GBP) RICS House Price Balance
- 11:50 pm GMT – (JPY) Core Machinery Orders m/m
