Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 0.17%, Shanghai Composite up 1.19%, Hang Seng down 0.31%, ASX up 0.58%
- Commodities : Gold at $1954.70 (-0.80%), Silver at $26.69 (-3.72%), Brent Oil at $44.70 (-0.58%), WTI Oil at $41.98 (-0.62%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 0.701, UK 10-year yield at 0.245, Germany 10-year yield at -0.412
News & Data:
- (NZD) NZ Manufacturing Index 58.8 vs 56.2 previous
- (USD) 30-y Bond Auction 1.41|2.1 vs 1.33|2.5 previous
- (USD) Natural Gas Storage 58B vs 51B expected
- (USD) Import Prices m/m 0.70% vs 0.60% expected
- (USD) Unemployment Claims 963K vs 1120K expected
- (CNY) Foreign Direct Investment ytd/y 0.50% vs -1.30% previous
- Australia central bank chief says fiscal stimulus needed to revive coronavirus-stricken economy
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are mostly lower on Friday following the mixed cues overnight from Wall Street and as investors remained cautious due to the stalled U.S. stimulus talks. Democrats and White House officials remain at an impasse over a coronavirus relief bill.
The ongoing stalemate has raised concerns the economic recovery implied by recent data could stall. Investors also looked ahead to the release of a raft of economic data from China today, including industrial production, retail sales, and fixed asset investment.
Chinese mainland shares rose, with the Shanghai composite up 1.2%, the Shenzhen component index higher by 1.5%. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 added 0.2% while the Topix index gave up earlier gains to finish near flat. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 0.3% in late-afternoon trade. Australia’s ASX 200 rose 0.6%, with most sectors notching gains.
The U.S. dollar traded lower against a basket of its peers as the dollar index fell 0.05% to 93.291. Yields on 30-year U.S. Treasuries stood at 1.4225% on Friday, close to a five-week high after the government sold a record amount of 30-year bonds to weak demand on Thursday.
Crude oil prices continued their modest decline through Thursday after the International Energy Agency cut its forecast for global oil demand for the whole of 2020 to 91.9 million barrels per day, saying the Covid-19 pandemic has cast a long shadow over oil demand.
Upcoming Events:
- 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) Core Retail Sales m/m
- 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) Retail Sales m/m
- 02:00 PM GMT – (USD) Prelim UoM Consumer Sentiment
