Global Markets:
- Asian stock markets: Nikkei rose 1.54 %, Shanghai Composite lost 0.83 %, Hang Seng climbed 0.14 %, ASX 200 gained 0.54 %
- Commodities: Gold at $1258.70, Silver at $15.88, WTI Oil at $55.92, Brent Oil at $61.25
- Rates: US 10-year yield at 2.34, UK 10-year yield at 1.23, German 10-year yield at 0.30
News & Data:
- (AUD) Trade Balance 0.11 B vs 1.37 B expected
- (USD) Crude Oil Inventories -5.6 M vs -3.2 M expected
- (CAD) Overnight Rate 1.00 % vs 1.00 % expected
- (USD) ADP Non-Farm Employment Change 190 K vs 189 K expected
- (CAD) Labor Productivity q/q -0.6 % vs -0.4 % expected
- U.S. unit labor costs decline for two straight quarters- RTRS
- U.S. tax cuts to eventualy underpin dollar, but may sink in meantime: Reuters poll
- Bitcoin contnues to rally crossing the $14,000 mark for the first time
Markets Update:
Asia-pacific equities were mixed on Thursday as investors awaited tax reform developments, softer oil and copper prices added to the uncertainty. Stocks managed to rise in Japan, Hong Kong and Australia meanwhile falling in China and South Korea. European and U.S. equities overnight showed scant reaction to big stock declines a day earlier in the region.
USDJPY traded marginally higher on Thursday as the Japanese Yen lost 0.2 percent against the US Dollar. Currently the Yen is valued at 112.50 per Dollar. A softer yen gave exporter shares a lift, particularly tech stocks. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average NIK, rebounded, rising 1.5 % after Wednesday’s 2 % decline, the most since March.
EURUSD is mostly unchanged and is currently seen trading around 1.1790 against the US Dollar after the EUR slipping to a two-week low of $1.1780 on Wednesday. The dollar index, which tracks the dollar against a basket of currencies was flat for the session and is currently valued at 93.65. The yield on 10-year Treasuries held at 2.34 percent.
AUDUSD continued to decline on weaker-than-expected trade data., the country's trade surplus for October came in at A$105 million — sharply below the A$1.38 billion forecast in a Reuters poll. Currently the Aussie is seen trading around 0.7544 after falling 0.2 percent against the US Dollar. Australia’s 10-year yield rose one basis point to 2.51 percent.
Upcoming Events:
- 08:30 GMT – (GBP) Halifax HPI m/m
- 13:30 GMT – (CAD) Building Permits m/m
- 13:30 GMT – (USD) Unemployment Claims
- 15:00 GMT – (CAD) Ivey PMI
- 16:00 GMT – (EUR) ECB President Draghi Speaks
- 23:50 GMT – (JPY) Final GDP q/q
- & More…
