Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 0.78%, Shanghai Composite up 1.74%, Hang Seng up 0.62%, ASX down 1.54%
- Commodities : Gold at $1811.65 (+0.10%), Silver at $18.74 (+0.23%), Brent Oil at $43.16 (+0.19%), WTI Oil at $40.63 (+0.02%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 0.653, UK 10-year yield at 0.160, Germany 10-year yield at -0.447
News & Data:
- (CHF) Unemployment Rate 3.30% vs 3.60% expected
- (JPY) Economy Watchers Sentiment 38.8 vs 24.7 expected
- (JPY) Current Account 0.82T vs 0.71T expected
- (JPY) Bank Lending y/y 6.20% vs 5.00% expected
- (NZD) GDT Price Index 8.30% vs 1.90% previous
- (USD) JOLTS Job Openings 5.40M vs 4.70M expected
- (CAD) Ivey PMI 58.2 vs 50.2 expected
- (USD) IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism 44 vs 48.2 expected
Markets Update:
Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Wednesday as the daily rise in virus cases continued to stay above 50,000 in the U.S., raising concerns over a potential delay in economic recovery.
Gloomy economic forecasts from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the European Commission also weighed on markets. The World Health Organization officials warned that the death toll from the pandemic may start to climb again.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dipped 0.8% while the Topix index shed 0.9%. New Zealand finished 0.3% lower while South Korea was off 0.2%. Stocks in mainland China have seen a strong surge so far this week, with the Shanghai composite soaring nearly 6% on Monday. The Shanghai composite closed 1.7% higher. Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia dropped 1.5%.
In commodities, gold hovered near a recent 8-1/2 year peak as investors preferred safe-haven assets. Oil prices were lower in the afternoon of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures down 0.21% to $43 per barrel.
Upcoming Events:
- 02:30 PM GMT – (USD) Crude Oil Inventories
- 05:01 PM GMT – (USD) 10-y Bond Auction
- 07:00 PM GMT – (USD) Consumer Credit m/m
- 11:01 PM GMT – (GBP) RICS House Price Balance
- 11:50 PM GMT – (JPY) Core Machinery Orders m/m
- 11:50 PM GMT – (JPY) M2 Money Stock y/y