Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 0.69%, Shanghai Composite down 0.47%, Hang Seng up 0.19%, ASX down 0.16%
- Commodities : Gold at $1254.90 (+0.10%), Silver at $14.76 (+0.41%), Brent Oil at $56.63 (+0.66%), WTI Oil at $46.84 (+0.52%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 2.810, UK 10-year yield at 1.284, Germany 10-year yield at 0.240
News & Data:
- (NZD) Current Account -6.15B vs -5.94B expected
- (NZD) Westpac Consumer Sentiment 109.1 vs 103.5 previous
- (USD) Building Permits 1.33M vs 1.27M expected
- (EUR) German Ifo Business Climate 101 vs 101.8 expected
- Italy has done deal with EU Commission over budget – Economy Minister spokeswoman
- Softbank Corp opens at 1,463 yen, IPO price 1,500 yen; falls as much as 10%
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are trading lower on Wednesday despite the positive cues overnight from Wall Street in a volatile session; oil stocks are falling following the overnight plunge in crude oil prices.
Investors now look ahead to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision due later in the day, with the central bank expected to hike interest rates for a fourth and final time in 2018 despite U.S. President Donald Trump urging the Fed to refrain from its gradual pace of raising rates. The Bank of Japan and the Bank of England will announce their monetary policy decisions on Thursday.
The Japanese market is modestly lower in volatile trade as a weaker yen weighed on exporters’ shares. The Nikkei is trading 0.7% lower. Greater China markets were mixed by the lunch break. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index inched up 0.2 percent, while the Shanghai composite was down by 0.5 percent and the Shenzhen composite was lower by 0.65 percent, respectively. Elsewhere, South Korea’s KOSPI rose 0.7%, while Australia’s ASX 200 slipped 0.2%.
Oil had stolen the show as a supply glut saw Brent shed almost 6 percent overnight. Brent’s 35 percent plunge since October is sending a disinflationary pulse through the world at a time when trade and economic activity are already cooling. That has only added to pressure on the Fed to abandon its commitment to yet more hikes.
Investors rushed into bonds, with the largest ever one-month rotation into fixed-income assets, while cutting equities. The steep drop in Treasury yields undermined one of the U.S. dollar’s major props and pulled its index back to 96.921, from a recent top of 97.711.
Upcoming Events:
- 10:30 AM GMT – (GBP) CPI y/y
- 10:30 AM GMT – (GBP) PPI Input m/m
- 10:30 AM GMT – (GBP) RPI y/y
- 02:30 PM GMT – (CAD) CPI m/m
- 02:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Common CPI y/y
- 02:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Median CPI y/y
- 02:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Trimmed CPI y/y
- 08:00 PM GMT – (USD) FOMC Economic Projections
- 08:00 PM GMT – (USD) FOMC Statement
- 08:00 PM GMT – (USD) Federal Funds Rate
- 08:30 PM GMT – (USD) FOMC Press Conference
- 10:45 PM GMT – (NZD) GDP q/q
- 10:45 PM GMT – (NZD) Trade Balance
- &more…
