Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 1.72%, Hang Seng down 2.94%, ASX down 0.33%
- Commodities : Gold at $1580.35 (+0.63%), Silver at $17.64 (+0.86%), Brent Oil at $58.13 (-1.32%), WTI Oil at $52.65 (-1.28%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 1.562, UK 10-year yield at 0.521, Germany 10-year yield at -0.400
News & Data:
- (USD) Federal Funds Rate <1.75% vs <1.75% expected
- (USD) Crude Oil Inventories 3.5M vs 0.7M expected
- (AUD) Trimmed Mean CPI q/q 0.40% vs 0.40% expected
- (AUD) CPI q/q 0.70% vs 0.60% expected
- Italy Set for More Debt and Stagnation Without Reforms, IMF Says
- Mark Zuckerberg’s Net Worth Drops $5 Billion After Facebook Results Shake Investors
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are mostly lower on Thursday following the lackluster cues overnight from Wall Street amid worries about the coronarvirus outbreak in China and following the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged.
Some of the world’s largest companies are curbing operations in China and restricting travel to the region due to the fast-spreading coronavirus. According to Chinese health officials, the coronavirus outbreak has killed 170 people and infected 7,711 people.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 2.94%, as of its final hour of trade, with shares of life insurer AIA dropping 2.91%. Elsewhere, the Nikkei 225 in Japan slipped 1.72% to close at 22,977.75 while the Topix index declined 1.48% to end its trading day at 1,674.77. In South Korea, the Kospi closed 1.71% lower at 2,148.00. Meanwhile, stocks in Australia slipped as the S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.33% to close at 7,008.40.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 98.04 after seeing an earlier low of 97.995.
Oil prices, a barometer of the expected impact of the virus on the world’s economy, resumed their slide.
Upcoming Events:
- All Day – (EUR) German Prelim CPI m/m
- 12:00 PM GMT – (GBP) BOE Monetary Policy 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
- 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Advance GDP q/q
- 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Advance GDP Price Index q/q