27 May 2020

Wednesday 27th May: Asian markets buck the trend and trade lower

IC Markets No Comments

Global Markets:

  • Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 0.70%, Shanghai Composite down 0.34%, Hang Seng down 0.70%, ASX down 0.09%
  • Commodities : Gold at $1696.80 (-0.52%), Silver at $17.49 (-0.59%), Brent Oil at $35.45 (-1.99%), WTI Oil at $33.73 (-1.80%)
  • Rates : US 10-year yield at 0.690, UK 10-year yield at 0.194, Germany 10-year yield at -0.440

News & Data:

  • (USD) New Home Sales 623K vs 492K expected
  • (USD) CB Consumer Confidence 86.6 vs 87.1 expected
  • (USD) S&P/CS Composite-20 HPI y/y 3.90% vs 3.40% expected
  • (USD) HPI m/m 0.10% vs 0.60% expected
  • (GBP) CBI Realized Sales -50 vs -65 expected
  • Lagarde: ECB’s Mild Growth Scenario Already Outdated
  • Japan’s Fiscal Spending in Extra Budgets to Total 120 T. Yen

Markets Update:

Asian stock markets are exhibiting a mixed trend on Wednesday as worries about rising U.S.-China tensions offset optimism about the reopening of economies as lockdown restrictions are eased.

Bloomberg reported that the U.S. is considering a range of economic sanctions on Chinese officials and companies over the situation in Hong Kong. President Donald Trump said he will make an announcement on his administration’s proposed actions by the end of this week.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 0.7% as shares of robot maker Fanuc surged 2.8%, with the Topix index also adding 1.0%. Over in South Korea, the Kospi closed fractionally higher. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 finished its trading day slightly lower. Mainland Chinese stocks were lower on the day, with the Shanghai composite slipping 0.3% while the Shenzhen composite declined 0.9%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dipped 0.7%, as of its final hour of trading.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, last traded at 99.114 after slipping from levels above 99.2 earlier. U.S. Treasury yields retreated from lows, with ten-year yields at 0.692%, having risen about 4 basis points on Tuesday.

Upcoming Events:

  • 08:00 AM GMT – (CHF) Credit Suisse Economic Expectations
  • 02:00 PM GMT – (USD) Richmond Manufacturing Index
  • 06:00 PM GMT – (USD) Beige Book