Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 0.95%, Shanghai Composite up 1.16%, Hang Seng up 1.33%, ASX up 0.14%
- Commodities : Gold at $1250.50 (-0.01%), Silver at $14.84 (+0.01%), Brent Oil at $60.46 (+0.52%), WTI Oil at $51.33 (+0.25%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 2.913, UK 10-year yield at 1.280, Germany 10-year yield at 0.288
News & Data:
- (USD) Core CPI m/m 0.20% vs 0.20% expected
- (USD) CPI m/m 0.00% vs 0.00% expected
- (AUD) Westpac Consumer Sentiment 0.10% vs 2.80% previous
- Germany’s Federal Minister for Economic Affairs concerned about instability in EU: Le Figaro
- S. yield curve to invert in 2019, recession to follow: Reuters poll
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are higher on Thursday, extending gains from the previous session, following the positive lead overnight from Wall Street. Optimism about U.S.-China trade relations and news that British Prime Minister Theresa May survived a no-confidence vote by the Conservative Party boosted investor sentiment.
Greater China shares higher by more than 1 percent, leading Asian markets. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1.34 percent by the lunch break at noon, while the Shanghai composite was up 1.2 percent. The Shenzhen composite, which opened slightly lower, recovered to gain 1.3 percent.
Australian stocks, meanwhile, saw relatively modest gains. The ASX 200 index inched up 0.14 percent, with the heavily weighted financials sub-index rising by 0.5 percent. Japanese shares rallied sharply on widespread buying, with the Nikkei up 0.95%.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was nearly unchanged at 97.070. U.S. treasury yields continued to rise as risk sentiment improved. The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes was at 2.9132 percent on Thursday, up from its U.S. close of 2.906 percent on Wednesday.
Upcoming Events:
- 09:30 AM GMT – (CHF) SNB Monetary Policy Assessment
- 09:30 AM GMT – (CHF) Libor Rate
- 10:00 AM GMT – (CHF) SNB Press Conference
- 01:45 PM GMT – (EUR) Main Refinancing Rate
- 02:30 PM GMT – (EUR) ECB Press Conference
- 10:30 PM GMT – (NZD) Business NZ Manufacturing Index
- &more…
