Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 2.38%, Shanghai Composite up 1.72%, Hang Seng up 2.29%, ASX up 1.05%
- Commodities : Gold at $1562.50 (-0.02%), Silver at $17.71 (+0.60%), Brent Oil at $56.19 (+1.65%), WTI Oil at $51.77 (+2.01%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 1.660, UK 10-year yield at 0.605, Germany 10-year yield at -0.359
News & Data:
- (AUD) Trade Balance 5.22B vs 5.65B expected
- (AUD) Retail Sales m/m -0.50% vs -0.20% expected
- (USD) Crude Oil Inventories 3.4M vs 2.9M expected
- (USD) ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI 55.5 vs 55.1 expected
- (CAD) Trade Balance -0.4B vs -0.6B expected
- (USD) ADP Non-Farm Employment Change 291K vs 157K expected
- (GBP) Final Services PMI 53.9 vs 52.9 expected
- China said to be planning to cut tariff rates by as much as 50%
- BoJ’s Masai: BoJ Must Ease Without Hesitation If Risks Materialize
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets, led by Japan, are in positive territory on Thursday following the overnight gains on Wall Street as investor sentiment was boosted by upbeat U.S. economic data and unconfirmed reports of possible vaccine breakthroughs for the coronavirus. However, the World Health Organization stated there are “no known” treatments against the virus. Meanwhile, China’s National Health Commission said that 563 people have died and a total of 28,018 cases have been confirmed in the country related to the coronavirus outbreak.
The Shanghai composite rose about 1.7% while the Shenzhen composite surged 2.7%. Beijing said Thursday it would halve tariffs on hundreds of U.S. imports from 1:01 p.m. on Feb. 14, according to a statement on the Ministry of Finance’s website.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 2.3%. South Korea’s Kospi also added 2.9%. Elsewhere, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.1%. A Thursday data release by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed the country’s retail sales turnover declined 0.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis in December as compared to November.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 98.307 after rising from lows around 97.9 earlier. The 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield rose back to 1.672% from a five-month low of 1.503% set last Friday.
Copper, considered a good gauge on the health of the global economy because of its wide industrial use, showed some signs of stabilization although it remained depressed overall.
Upcoming Events:
- 08:00 AM GMT – (EUR) ECB President Lagarde Speaks
- 10:00 AM GMT – (EUR) EU Economic Forecasts
- 10:30 PM GMT – (AUD) RBA Gov Lowe Speaks