Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 0.12%, Shanghai Composite down 0.11%, Hang Seng down 1.56%, ASX down 1.07%
- Commodities : Gold at $1706.60 (+0.51%), Silver at $15.76 (+0.51%), Brent Oil at $30.05 (+1.42%), WTI Oil at $24.72 (+2.40%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 0.707, UK 10-year yield at 0.279, Germany 10-year yield at -0.498
News & Data:
- (AUD) NAB Business Confidence -46 vs -65 previous
- (NZD) ANZ Business Confidence -45.6 vs -66.6 previous
- Australia faces “sobering” future economy due to coronavirus
- Japan To Slip Into Recession As Q1 GDP Dips
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are mostly lower on Tuesday following the mixed cues from Wall Street and on lower commodity prices. Worries about a second wave of COVID-19 infections as several countries start to emerge from lockdowns also weighed on the markets.
China, Germany and South Korea have reported new clusters of coronavirus cases, highlighting the potential threat of reopening economies too quickly. Concerns about a trade row emerged after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was “not interested” in renegotiating the Phase 1 trade deal with China.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 declined 0.1% while the Topix index slipped 0.3%. Mainland Chinese stocks were mixed on the day, with the Shanghai composite down 0.1%. Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia fell 1.1%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.6%, as of its final hour of trading.
Fund managers expect equity markets to stay the course through June and avoid retesting March lows given the massive monetary stimulus provided by the U.S. Federal Reserve and other major central banks. Late on Monday, the Fed said it would start purchasing shares of exchange-traded funds that invest in bonds, one of several tools to improve market functioning in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
In commodity markets, oil prices climbed following an unexpected commitment from Saudi Arabia to deepen production cuts in June.
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