Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 0.19%, Shanghai Composite up 0.02%, Hang Seng up 0.08%, ASX down 0.26%
- Commodities : Gold at $1283.85 (+0.04%), Silver at $15.40 (+0.50%), Brent Oil at $61.91 (+0.67%), WTI Oil at $53.30 (+0.55%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 2.746, UK 10-year yield at 1.320, Germany 10-year yield at 0.228
News & Data:
- (JPY) BOJ Policy Rate -0.10% vs -0.10% expected
- (NZD) CPI q/q 0.10% vs 0.00% expected
- (CAD) Manufacturing Sales m/m -1.40% vs -0.80% expected
- (EUR) German ZEW Economic Sentiment -15 vs -18.8 expected
- (GBP) Unemployment Rate 4.00% vs 4.10% expected
- (GBP) Public Sector Net Borrowing 2.1B vs 1.1B expected
- (GBP) Average Earnings Index 3m/y 3.40% vs 3.30% expected
- NZ dollar rises as inflation data reduces rate-cut risk
- Davos Doesn’t Think There’s Going to Be a Global Recession
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are mostly lower on Wednesday amid worries about global economic growth and the uncertainty over U.S.-China trade talks. However, some of the markets have pared early losses. Media reports indicating that the Trump administration rejected an offer from China for preparatory talks ahead of next week’s high-level trade negotiations dampened sentiment. However, White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow has denied the reports.
The mainland Chinese markets, closely watched in relation to the trade war between Beijing and Washington, saw early gains but eventually lost steam. The Shanghai composite traded flat, while the Shenzhen component and Shenzhen composite both saw fractional losses by the end of the morning session. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index, however, traded a shade higher.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 traded 0.2 percent in the red, while the Topix index continued to trade 0.6 percent lower. In Australia, the ASX 200 slipped 0.3 percent as most sectors traded mixed. South Korea’s Kospi traded higher by half a percent.
U.S. bond prices have found support, with the benchmark 10-year yield slipping to 2.744 percent from Friday’s peak of 2.799 percent, the highest since Dec. 27, with money market futures pricing out any chance of a Fed rate hike this year. The euro was a shade higher at $1.1368 but remained in close reach of a three-week low of $1.1336 set on Tuesday, weighed by recent weakness in the euro zone economy and worries about fallout from Brexit.
In commodities, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures managed to crawl up 0.5 percent to $53.30 per barrel after shedding 1.9 percent the previous day.
Upcoming Events:
- Day 1 – (All) WEF Annual Meetings
- 10:30 AM GMT – (GBP) MPC Member Broadbent Speaks
- 02:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Core Retail Sales m/m
- 02:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Retail Sales m/m
- &more…
