Monday 21st May: Asian Markets Mostly Higher As US trade war with China “on hold”

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Global Markets:

  • Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 0.47%, Shanghai Composite up 0.79%, Hang Seng up 1.24%, ASX down 0.05%
  • Commodities : Gold at $1287.00 (-0.33%), Silver at $16.39 (-0.40%), Brent at $79.11 (+0.76%), WTI Oil at $71.91 (+0.76%)
  • Rates : US 10-year yield at 3.071, UK 10-year yield at 1.501, Germany 10-year yield at 0.570 

News & Data:

  • (NZD) Core Retail Sales q/q 0.60% vs 1.10% expected
  • (NZD) Retail Sales q/q 0.10% vs 1.00% expected
  • (CAD) Trimmed CPI y/y 2.10% vs 2.00% previous
  • (CAD) Retail Sales m/m 0.60% vs 0.30% expected
  • (CAD) Median CPI y/y 2.10% vs 2.10% previous
  • (CAD) Common CPI y/y 1.90% vs 1.90% previous
  • (CAD) Core Retail Sales m/m -0.20% vs 0.50% expected
  • (CAD) CPI m/m 0.30% vs 0.30% expected
  • Japanese Exports Rebound in April After Weak March Reading
  • USD/JPY ticks over 111.00 as markets turn risk-on following US, China trade spat cool-off
  • Dollar edges up versus yen as U.S.-China trade war fears recede

CFTC Positioning Data (Week Ending May 15th, 2018)

  • EUR long 115K vs 120K long last week.. Longs trimmed by 5K 
  • GBP long 6K vs 9K long last week. Longs trimmed by 3K.
  • JPY long 4K vs -5K short last week. Longs increased by 9K turning the net speculative position to long from short 
  • CHF short 36K vs 32K short last week. Shorts increased by 4K.
  • CAD short 24K vs 24K short last week. Unchanged from last week.
  • AUD short 23k vs 17K short last week.  Shorts increased by 6K.
  • NZD long 2K vs 13K long last week.  Longs trimmed by 11K. 

 

Markets Update:

Asian stock markets are mostly higher on Monday after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that the U.S. trade war with China is "on hold" as the world's two largest economies work on a wider trade agreement. On Saturday, Chinese and American negotiators reached an agreement to set up a framework for addressing trade imbalances in the future.

The Japanese market is advancing after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that the U.S. trade war with China is "on hold". Better-than-expected Japanese trade surplus for the month of April also boosted investor sentiment. The Australian market is edging higher after a weak start. Gains by oil stocks helped offset weakness in banks and mining stocks.

As safe-haven demand for debt fell, U.S. bond prices were under pressure, keeping their yields not far from last week’s peaks.The 10-year Treasuries yield stood at 3.065 percent, near a seven-year high of 3.128 percent hit on Friday.

Oil prices held firm near 3-1/2-year highs also on easing trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies.Oil prices have been supported by plummeting Venezuelan production, in addition to a solid global demand and supply concerns stemming from tensions in the Middle East.

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