Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 1.04%, Shanghai Composite down 0.98%, Hang Seng down 2.36%, ASX down 3.44%
- Commodities : Gold at $1490.90 (+0.88%), Silver at $12.08 (+2.62%), Brent Oil at $26.65 (+7.11%), WTI Oil at $23.72 (+13.87%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 1.231, UK 10-year yield at 0.868, Germany 10-year yield at -0.386
News & Data:
- (AUD) Cash Rate 0.25% vs 0.50% previous
- (AUD) Unemployment Rate 5.10% vs 5.30% expected
- (AUD) Employment Change 26.7K vs 8.5K expected
- (NZD) GDP q/q 0.50% vs 0.50% expected
- (CAD) Trimmed CPI y/y 2.00% vs 2.10% expected
- (CAD) Median CPI y/y 2.10% vs 2.20% expected
- (CAD) Common CPI y/y 1.80% vs 1.80% expected
- (USD) Building Permits 1.46M vs 1.50M expected
- (CAD) CPI m/m 0.40% vs 0.40% expected
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets failed to sustain early gains and slipped into negative territory on Thursday as initial euphoria over the European Central Bank’s announcement of stimulus measures faded amid worries about the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The European Central Bank or ECB said it will buy 750 billion euro in bonds through 2020 to help support the European economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Australian market opened higher despite the overnight sell-off on Wall Street as investors went bargain hunting in early trading ahead of anticipated stimulus measures by the Reserve Bank of Australia later in the day. However, the market erased its initial gains in volatile trading and slipped into negative territory amid a series of corporate earnings warnings due to the COVID-19 spread.
The Japanese market opened higher after the European Central Bank announced a 750 billion euros bond-buying program to combat the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. However, the market slipped into negative territory as mounting fears of a global recession due to the COVID-19 pandemic offset optimism about the ECB stimulus. The Nikkei 225 in Japan slid 1%, while the Topix index added 1%. Mainland Chinese stocks slipped as the Shanghai composite declined more than 1%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 2.4% by the afternoon.
Oil prices attempted to bounce back from their Wednesday losses. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 101.356 after rising from levels below 100 yesterday.
Upcoming Events:
- 08:30 AM GMT – (CHF) SNB Monetary Policy Assessment
- 08:30 AM GMT – (CHF) SNB Policy Rate
- 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) Philly Fed Manufacturing Index