Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 0.88%, Shanghai Composite up 0.11%, Hang Seng up 1.32%, ASX down 2.02%
- Commodities : Gold at $1637.30 (-0.36%), Silver at $14.33 (+1.42%), Brent Oil at $26.83 (+1.55%), WTI Oil at $21.19 (+5.48%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 0.710, UK 10-year yield at 0.393, Germany 10-year yield at -0.467
News & Data:
- (GBP) Current Account -5.6B vs -7.0B expected
- (CNY) Non-Manufacturing PMI 52.3 vs 42.1 expected
- (CNY) Manufacturing PMI 52 vs 44.9 expected
- (NZD) ANZ Business Confidence -63.5 vs -19.4 previous
- Social distancing creates $8 trillion in economic benefits, study says
- BOJ Fix for Bank Funding Sparks Turmoil in Japan’s Repo Market
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets with the exception of Japan are in positive territory on Tuesday following the overnight gains on Wall Street and as data from China that showed the country’s manufacturing sector moved back into expansion in March.
The announcement of additional stimulus measures by the Australian government and upbeat economic data from Japan also boosted sentiment. The latest survey from the National Bureau of Statistics said that the manufacturing sector in China moved back into expansion in March, with a manufacturing PMI score of 52.0 – beating forecasts for 45.0. That’s up sharply from 35.7 in February, and it moves back above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
Mainland Chinese stocks were higher by the afternoon, with the Shanghai composite up 0.1% while the Shenzhen composite added 0.5%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also gained 1.3%. Investor sentiment in Australia received a boost after the Australian government announced a third stimulus package worth A$130 billion to deal with the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. In South Korea, where stocks led gains among the region’s major markets, the Kospi rose 2.2%.
Oil prices steadied, after diving to the lowest in almost 18 years on Monday as lockdowns for the virus squeezed demand even as Saudi Arabia and Russia vied to pump more product.
In the gold market all the talk has been of a rush of demand for the physical product amid shortages in coins and small bars. Flows into gold-backed ETFs have ballooned by $13 billion so far this year, the most since 2004.
Upcoming Events:
- 06:00 AM GMT – (GBP) Current Account
- 12:30 PM GMT – (CAD) GDP m/m
- 01:45 PM GMT – (USD) Chicago PMI
- 02:00 PM GMT – (USD) CB Consumer Confidence