Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 0.86%, Shanghai Composite up 1.91%, Hang Seng up 1.33%, ASX up 0.41%
- Commodities : Gold at $1213.60 (+0.19%), Silver at $14.42 (+0.80%), Brent Oil at $78.94 (+0.30%), WTI Oil at $70.39 (+0.10%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 3.081, UK 10-year yield at 1.591, Germany 10-year yield at 0.479
News & Data:
- (USD) Philly Fed Manufacturing Index 22.9 vs 17.5 expected
- (GBP) Retail Sales m/m 0.30% vs -0.20% expected
- (CHF) Libor Rate -0.75% vs -0.75% expected
- BOJ Cuts Purchases of Super-Long Bonds for First Time Since July
- PBOC set the Yuan reference rate at 6.8357
- Japan inflation ticks up but BOJ's target remains elusive
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are mostly higher on Friday following the record highs overnight on Wall Street, while the U.S. dollar weakened as worries about trade tensions eased. Upbeat economic data also boosted sentiment. Crude oil prices declined overnight after U.S. President Donald Trump's tweet that called on the OPEC members to lower crude prices.
Japan's Nikkei 225 continued to advance by 0.9 percent in the afternoon, with the insurance sector rising by 2.2 percent. The moves in Japan followed a data release which showed that its nationwide core consumer price index for August rose 0.9 percent compared to a year ago. It was in line with expectations from a Reuters poll but still off the Bank of Japan's inflation target of 2 percent.
South Korea's Kospi also continued to trade higher by 0.38 percent, as memory chipmaker SK Hynix's stock remained weaker, by 3.16 percent. The Australian market is rising following the gains on Wall Street as worries about U.S.-China trade tensions eased. Stocks are gaining across the board.
In the currency market, the dollar slipped to three-month low against a basket of major trading partners as easing worries on trade wars quelled bids for dollar. The dollar’s weakness and spikes in U.S. Treasuries yields this week raised suspicions that some sovereign players may be selling the dollar they hold in their foreign reserves for other currencies. Oil prices have pulled back from recent highs after U.S. President Donald Trump urged OPEC to increase production at its meeting in Algeria.
Upcoming Events:
- 08:00 AM GMT – (EUR) French Flash Manufacturing PMI
- 08:00 AM GMT – (EUR) French Flash Services PMI
- 08:30 AM GMT – (EUR) German Flash Manufacturing PMI
- 08:30 AM GMT – (EUR) German Flash Services PMI
- 09:00 AM GMT – (EUR) Flash Manufacturing PMI
- 09:00 AM GMT – (EUR) Flash Services PMI
- 09:30 AM GMT – (GBP) Public Sector Net Borrowing
- 01:30 PM GMT – (CAD) CPI m/m
- 01:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Core Retail Sales m/m
- 01:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Common CPI y/y
- 01:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Median CPI y/y
- 01:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Retail Sales m/m
- 01:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Trimmed CPI y/y
- &more…
