Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 0.94%, Shanghai Composite up 0.51%, Hang Seng up 1.15%, ASX up 0.72%
- Commodities : Gold at $1297.35 (+0.15%), Silver at $15.15 (+0.58%), Brent Oil at $69.75 (+0.55%), WTI Oil at $62.83 (+0.40%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 2.503, UK 10-year yield at 1.025, Germany 10-year yield at -0.041
News & Data:
- (CNY) Caixin Services PMI 54.4 vs 52.3 expected
- (AUD) Trade Balance 4.80B vs 3.71B expected
- (AUD) Retail Sales m/m 0.80% vs 0.30% expected
- (USD) Durable Goods Orders m/m -1.60% vs -1.10% expected
- (USD) Core Durable Goods Orders m/m 0.10% vs 0.30% expected
- AU retail sales bounce eases pressure for RBA rate cut
- China Caixin services PMI hits 14-month high
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets, with the exception of New Zealand, are higher on Wednesday despite the mixed cues overnight from Wall Street amid optimism about U.S.-China trade talks. The Financial Times reported that the U.S. and China have resolved most of the outstanding issues and are drawing closer to a final trade agreement. White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow also said on Tuesday that the world’s two largest economies “expect to make more headway” in trade talks this week.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan added 0.9 percent in afternoon trade as shares of index heavyweight Fast Retailing soared almost 5 percent. The Topix index rose 0.6 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 1.2 percent, as shares of Chinese tech giant Tencent jumped more than 2.5 percent — it had earlier reached its highest level since the last intra-day high on August 10.
Mainland Chinese stocks, however, were tepid by the morning session’s end, with the Shanghai composite advancing 0.5 percent. Meanwhile, the ASX 200 in Australia rose 0.7 percent. Data on Wednesday showed that retail sales Down Under hit a 15-month high in February, with the country’s trade surplus soaring beyond expectations to its second highest on record in the same month.
After a brief consolidation in risk sentiment, U.S. Treasury yields were once again ticking higher. Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes yielded 2.5027 percent, up from a U.S. close of 2.479 percent on Tuesday, and the two-year yield touched 2.3240 percent compared with a U.S. close of 2.308 percent. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, eased 0.16 percent to 97.206.
Oil prices also stood near multi-month highs amid concerns about supply, with Brent crude rising as much as 0.72 percent to $69.87 per barrel, its highest since November and near the psychologically important level of $70 per barrel.
Upcoming Events:
- 09:30 AM GMT – (GBP) Services PMI
- 01:15 PM GMT – (USD) ADP Non-Farm Employment Change
- 03:00 PM GMT – (USD) ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI
- &more…
