Global Markets:
- Asian stock markets: Nikkei up 0.53 %, Shanghai Composite lost 0.80 %, Hang Seng rose 0.33 %, ASX 200 gained 0.48 %
- Commodities: Gold at $1278.48 (0.04 %), Silver at $17.14 (0.03 %), WTI Oil at $54.84 (0.55 %), Brent Oil at $60.86 (0.40 %)
- Rates: US 10-year yield at 2.34, UK 10-year yield at 1.25, German 10-year yield at 0.37
News & Data:
- (AUD) Retail Sales m/m 0.0 % vs 0.4 % expected
- (CNY) Caixin Services PMI 51.2 vs 50.8 expected
- (USD) Unemployment Claims 229 K vs 235 K expected
- (GBP) MPC Official Bank Rate Votes 7-0-2 v 6-0-3 expected
- (GBP) Official Bank Rate 0.50 % vs 0.50 % expected
- (GBP) Construction PMI 50.8 vs 48.3 expected
- U.S. job growth seen surging after storm-related disruptions
- Powell-led Fed could be U.S. dollar-positive in long term- RTRS
Markets Update:
Asia pacific equity markets were mixed early on Friday following the lack of movement in most U.S stocks overnight and as investors assessed the latest news on U.S. tax-cut plans and looked ahead to Friday’s American jobs report. President Donald Trump on Thursday tapped Fed Governor Jerome Powell to become head of the U.S. central bank. Australian stocks stood out, hitting fresh 2017 highs on gains in commodity prices.
USDJPY dropped around 20 points lower and is currently seen trading around 114.00 as the Yen gained 0.1 percent against the US Dollar. Overall the USDJPY had a rather quiet session as the Markets in Japan are closed for Culture Day keeping the volumes light.
EURUSD was seen trading flat at 1.1660. The dollar index, which tracks the dollar against a basket of currencies was little changed and is currently valued at 94.66. The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell two basis points Thursday, to 2.35 percent. The pound lost over 1.4 percent against the USD and is currently seen trading at 1.3071 Suffering its largest single day slide since October last year as the Bank of England hiked rates for the first time in a decade.
AUDUSD lost big today following a very poor retail sales data. Currently the AUD is seen trading at 0.7688 after losing 0.4 percent against the US Dollar. Australia’s 10-year yield decreased more than seven basis points to 2.58 percent. The NZDUSD had a better session today gaining close to 30 pips, currently the Kiwi is seen trading above 0.6930.
Upcoming Events:
- All Day – (JPY) Bank Holiday
- 09:30 GMT – (GBP) Services PMI
- 12:30 GMT – (CAD) Employment Change
- 12:30 GMT – (CAD) Trade Balance
- 12:30 GMT – (CAD) Unemployment Rate
- 12:30 GMT – (USD) Average Hourly Earnings m/m
- 12:30 GMT – (USD) Non-Farm Employment Change
- 12:30 GMT – (USD) Unemployment Rate
- 14:00 GMT – (USD) ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI
