Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 0.63%, Shanghai Composite down 0.04%, Hang Seng up 0.62%, ASX down 0.93%
- Commodities : Gold at $1802.50 (+0.13%), Silver at $25.99 (0.00%), Brent Oil at $74.67 (+0.74%), WTI Oil at $73.60 (+0.90%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 1.333, UK 10-year yield at 0.634, Germany 10-year yield at -0.311
News & Data:
- (USD) Unemployment Claims 373K vs 345K expected
- (USD) Crude Oil Inventories -6.9M vs -4.0M expected
- Japanese investors reduced exposure to US bonds in May
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Friday, following the broadly negative cues overnight from Wall Street on downbeat US labor data and continued slump in U.S. treasury yields. Traders remain concerns about the outlook for the global economy amid considerable weakness in most markets due to the fresh wave of the highly infectious coronavirus variant.
The Japanese stock market is sharply lower on Friday, extending the significant losses of the previous two sessions, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 losing nearly 700 points to be just above the 27,400 level, following the broadly negative cues overnight from Wall Street.
Australian stock market is also sharply lower on Friday as financial and technology stocks are taking a beating. Investors also remain focused on China, after the State Council earlier in the week that the People’s Bank of China could cut its reserve requirement ratio for banks in an unexpected U-turn. In addition to weaker-than-expected data released earlier in the month, there are signs that the economic recovery in the world’s second-largest economy is also slowing down.
U.S. government bonds mostly held their advance within the past week. However, the 30-year Treasury yield dropped below 1.90% for the first time since February 2021 during the previous session.
Upcoming Events:
- 10:00 AM GMT – (EUR) ECB President Lagarde Speaks
- 10:00 AM GMT – (GBP) BOE Gov Bailey Speaks
- 12:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Employment Change
- 12:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Unemployment Rate
- Day 2 – (All) G20 Meetings
