Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 1.06%, Shanghai Composite down 2.75%, Hang Seng down 2.39%, ASX down 0.43%
- Commodities : Gold at $1218.20 (+0.02%), Silver at $15.42 (-0.24%), Brent Oil at $72.56 (+0.23%), WTI Oil at $67.73 (+0.10%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 2.990, UK 10-year yield at 1.391, Germany 10-year yield at 0.478
News & Data:
- (AUD) Trade Balance 1.87B vs 0.91B expected
- (USD) Federal Funds Rate <2.00% vs <2.00% expected
- (USD) FOMC Statement vs previous
- (USD) Crude Oil Inventories 3.8M vs -2.6M expected
- (USD) ISM Manufacturing PMI 58.1 vs 59.4 expected
- (USD) ADP Non-Farm Employment Change 219K vs 186K expected
- (GBP) Manufacturing PMI 54 vs 54.2 expected
- Japan's key bond yield hits 2.5-yr high after BOJ policy adjustments
- PBoC set the yuan reference rate at 6.7942 vs the previous day's fix of 6.8293
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are declining on Thursday following the mixed cues from Wall Street amid renewed worries about a U.S.-China trade war and on rising bond yields. Investor sentiment was dampened following news that the Trump administration is considering raising the proposed tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports to 25 percent from the 10 percent announced earlier. Global bond markets were rattled by increased borrowing by Washington and Japan’s new tolerance for higher yields.
The Japanese market is declining following the mixed lead from Wall Street and on a stronger safe-haven yen amid renewed worries about a U.S.-China trade war. The Australian market is edging lower following weakness in mining stocks after Rio Tinto's profit missed analysts' estimates. Chinese mainland markets were also lower: The Shanghai composite was down by as much as 2.5%. Elsewhere in Asia, Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong are losing more than 1 percent each. South Korea, New Zealand, Taiwan and Malaysia are also lower, while Indonesia is edging higher.
The Federal Reserve concluded a two-day meeting on monetary policy and left interest rates unchanged. The Wednesday decision was widely expected, but the central bank upgraded its view on the economy, calling it "strong". Worries that higher yields in Japan may prompt Japanese investors to repatriate funds hit European bonds, boosting German and French yields to seven-week highs on Wednesday.
In the foreign exchange market, major currencies were little moved. The euro changed hands at $1.1661, while the yen stood at 111.67 yen to the dollar. The British pound was steady at $1.3119 ahead of an expected rate hike by the Bank of England later in the day.
Oil prices advanced on Thursday morning after falling about 2 percent overnight following a surprise increase in U.S. crude inventory that led to renewed concerns about oversupply.
Upcoming Events:
- 09:30 AM GMT – (GBP) Construction PMI
- 12:00 PM GMT – (GBP) BOE Inflation Report
- 12:00 PM GMT – (GBP) MPC Official Bank Rate Votes
- 12:00 PM GMT – (GBP) Monetary Policy Summary
- 12:00 PM GMT – (GBP) Official Bank Rate
- 12:00 PM GMT – (GBP) Asset Purchase Facility
- 12:00 PM GMT – (GBP) MPC Asset Purchase Facility Votes
- 12:30 PM GMT – (GBP) BOE Gov Carney Speaks
- 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Unemployment Claims
- &more…
