Global Markets:
- Asian stock markets: Nikkei up 0.20 %, Shanghai Composite fell 0.25 %, Hang Seng rose 0.05 %, ASX 200 gained 0.85 %
- Commodities: Gold at $1142 (+0.30 %), Silver at $16.07 (+0.50 %), WTI Oil at $53.80 (-0.20 %), Brent Oil at $56.65 (-0.30 %)
- Rates: US 10-year yield at 2.56, UK 10-year yield at 1.35, German 10-year yield at 0.21
News & Data:
- Japan Industrial Production m/m 1.5 % (exp 1.6 % prev 0.0 %)
- Japan Industrial Production 1m Forecast 2.0 % (prev 4.5 %)
- Japan Industrial Production 2m Forecast 2.2 % (prev -0.6 %)
- Japan Retail Sales 1.7 % (exp 0.9 % prev -0.1 %)
- Asia follows Wall Street higher, upbeat U.S. data lifts dollar vs yen – RTRS
- Dollar edges higher against yen on strong U.S. indicators – RTRS
- Oil prices edge down ahead of OPEC, non-OPEC production cuts – RTRS
Markets Update:
All Asian markets were open again today, and the majority of stock indices are up on the day. Australia's ASX was the top performer amongst the major indices and gained more than 0.80 %.
In FX, the Dollar weakened slightly against the other major currencies, except the Yen. The Dollar rose yesterday following stronger than expected US economic data, but failed to sustain the momentum into the Asian session.
EUR/USD rose from 1.0450 to 1.0475 in Asia, while GBP/USD recovered from 1.2262 to 1.2295. Meanwhile, USD/JPY made it from 117.40 to 117.75, but ran again into decent resistance ahead of the 117.80 level and eventually reversed the part of the gains.
The commodity currencies bounced as well, with AUD/USD rising from 0.7180 to 0.7210 and NZD/USD from 0.6885 to 0.6930.
Looking ahead, there are again no major data releases in the upcoming EU session, so the focus will be on US pending home sales at 15:00 GMT.
Upcoming Events:
- 15:00 GMT – US Pending Home Sales
