Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 0.02%, Shanghai Composite up 1.82%, Hang Seng up 1.16%, ASX up 0.55%
- Commodities : Gold at $1222.00 (+0.08%), Silver at $15.46 (+0.18%), Brent Oil at $72.48 (+0.28%), WTI Oil at $67.03 (+0.13%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 2.955, UK 10-year yield at 1.317, Germany 10-year yield at 0.402
News & Data:
- (CNY) CPI y/y 2.10% vs 2.00% expected
- (NZD) Official Cash Rate 1.75% vs 1.75% expected
- (USD) Crude Oil Inventories -1.4M vs -2.8M expected
- China consumer inflation rises to 4-month high
- US Treasury Sells Record Amount Of 10Y Notes In Solid Auction
- UK house prices inch up, buy-to-let investors exit market – RICS
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are mostly higher on Thursday amid cautious trade as investors focused on the tit-for-tat trade tariffs by the U.S. and China as well as the overnight fall in crude oil prices. Meanwhile, the Russian rouble tumbled after the U.S. announced new sanctions on Russia. China said Wednesday that it will impose 25 percent tariff on $16 billion worth of U.S. goods after the U.S. finalized a list of about $16 billion worth of Chinese imports that will be subject to a 25 percent tariff. Chinese data showed the country's exports for July rose 12.2 percent on-year, beating analyst expectations for a 10 percent growth. The July data was the first reading since U.S. tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese imports came into effect earlier that month.
The Shanghai composite traded up 1.7 percent and the Shenzhen composite rose 2.5 percent. The rise comes amid talk of possible government support for home-grown technology companies, which would mark the latest in a series of growth boosting measures rolled out by Beijing as the trade dispute worsens. Hopes for more Chinese infrastructure spending also underpinned industrial resources including iron ore and copper. The Japanese market is declining following the mixed cues overnight from Wall Street amid tit-for-tat trade tariffs by the U.S. and China, and as a stronger safe-haven yen weighed on exporters' shares. Investors also digested data that showed a fall in Japanese core machinery orders for June. South Korea's Kospi traded near flat and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up 1.2 percent. In Australia, the ASX 200 rose 0.6 percent. The energy subindex reversed early losses of more than 0.8 percent, following an overnight drop in oil prices, to trade near flat.
In currency markets, the Russian rouble sank after Washington said it would impose fresh sanctions because it had determined that Moscow had used a nerve agent against a former Russian agent and his daughter in Britain. The pound skidded to its lowest against the dollar and euro in almost a year as fears grew Britain might leave the EU without a deal on trade with Brussels. The Japanese yen seemed to be catching a bid as a traditional safe-haven, with the dollar easing to 110.80 yen after stretching as high as 111.44 on Wednesday.
Upcoming Events:
- 01:30 PM GMT – (CAD) NHPI m/m
- 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) PPI m/m
- 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Core PPI m/m
- 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Unemployment Claims
- 11:30 PM GMT – (NZD) Business NZ Manufacturing Index
