Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 1.13%, Shanghai Composite down 1.03%, Hang Seng down 0.06%, ASX down 0.69%
- Commodities : Gold at $1263.20 (-0.37%), Silver at $14.83 (-0.30%), Brent Oil at $54.76 (+0.75%), WTI Oil at $46.28 (+0.87%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 2.806, UK 10-year yield at 1.271, Germany 10-year yield at 0.233
News & Data:
- (GBP) Official Bank Rate 0.75% vs 0.75% expected
- (GBP) MPC Official Bank Rate Votes 0-0-9 vs 0-0-9 expected
- (GBP) Retail Sales m/m 1.40% vs 0.30% expected
- (JPY) BOJ Policy Rate -0.10% vs -0.10% expected
- PBOC statement: Rumors on no tax cut and fee cut are untrue
- Japan Vice FinMin Okamoto: Japan Economy Moving In Favourable Direction, Gradual Recovery Intact
Markets Update:
Global stocks were sinking in a sea of red on Friday as the threat of a U.S. government shutdown and of further hikes in U.S. borrowing costs sent dismayed investors sailing for safer harbours.
The S&P 500 was heading for its worst quarter since the dark days of late 2008, with a loss of 15 percent so far. The Nasdaq has shed 19.5 percent from its August peak, just shy of confirming a bear market.
Japan’s Nikkei index was down 1.8 percent, as the yen held gains on safe-haven demand amid political brinkmanship in Washington. Japanese banks have suffered as a result of the central bank’s loose monetary policy, which has had the side effect of impacting the revenues of the country’s lenders. The mainland Chinese markets, closely watched in relation with Beijing’s trade spat with Washington, slipped by the end of the morning session, as the Shanghai composite declined by nearly 1 percent and the Shenzhen composite lost 0.96 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell around 0.1 percent. Over in South Korea, the Kospi traded flat as industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics slipped around 0.65 percent.
In Australia, the ASX 200 lost its earlier gains to trade lower by 0.7 percent, with most sectors slipping. Shares of the country’s so-called Big Four banks declined, with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac all seeing declines of more than 1 percent.
There was also a sense of capitulation in currency markets as the dollar dived 1.1 percent on the yen on Thursday to hit a three-month trough at 110.80. It was last changing hands at 111.38 having shattered several layers of chart support. The flight from risk was a boon to sovereign bonds, where U.S. 10-year yields struck their lowest since early April at 2.748 percent. As recently as October, they had been at a seven-year top of 3.261 percent. Both Brent and U.S. crude futures reached their lowest in more than a year overnight, but edged higher on Friday on talk production cuts by OPEC might be larger than first thought.
Upcoming Events:
- 10:30 AM GMT – (GBP) Current Account
- 10:30 AM GMT – (GBP) Final GDP q/q
- 10:30 AM GMT – (GBP) Public Sector Net Borrowing
- 02:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Core Retail Sales m/m
- 02:30 PM GMT – (CAD) GDP m/m
- 02:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Retail Sales m/m
- 02:30 PM GMT – (USD) Core Durable Goods Orders m/m
- 02:30 PM GMT – (USD) Final GDP q/q
- 02:30 PM GMT – (USD) Durable Goods Orders m/m
- 04:00 PM GMT – (CAD) BOC Business Outlook Survey
- 04:00 PM GMT – (USD) Core PCE Price Index m/m
- 04:00 PM GMT – (USD) Personal Spending m/m
- 04:00 PM GMT – (USD) Revised UoM Consumer Sentiment
- &more…
