Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 0.22%, Shanghai Composite up 0.52%, Hang Seng up 0.57%, ASX down 0.70%
- Commodities : Gold at $1273.35 (-0.84%), Silver at $14.65 (-0.52%), Brent Oil at $71.86 (-0.44%), WTI Oil at $63.33 (-0.42%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 2.505, UK 10-year yield at 1.156, Germany 10-year yield at 0.027
News & Data:
- (USD) Federal Funds Rate <2.50% vs <2.50% expected
- (USD) ISM Manufacturing PMI 52.8 vs 55 expected
- (USD) ADP Non-Farm Employment Change 275K vs 181K expected
- (GBP) Net Lending to Individuals m/m 4.7B vs 4.5B expected
- (GBP) Manufacturing PMI 53.1 vs 53.2 expected
- US ends Iran oil sanction waivers for Japan, 7 others
- New home sales show signs of stabilising: HIA’s Geordan Murray
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are exhibiting a mixed trend on Thursday following the negative cues overnight from Wall Street after the U.S. Federal Reserve dashed investors’ hopes of a near-term interest rate cut.
In addition, weak commodity prices weighed on resources stocks. The markets in Japan and China are closed for public holidays.Markets in China and Japan are closed for holidays.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index added 0.6% by the morning session’s end as shares of AIA jumped more than 3%. The ASX 200 in Australia, on the other hand, declined 0.7% as majority of the sectors slipped. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.4% in afternoon trade, as shares of industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics rose 0.11% and chipmaker SK Hynix soared 2.28%.
In currency markets, the greenback took a breather following strong gains overnight after the U.S. Federal Reserve kept the target range for its policy rate unchanged at its May meeting. The dollar index held at 97.631 against a basket of major currencies after going as high as 97.728 on Wednesday. It stood at 111.49 yen after consistently easing from a four-month high of 112.39 touched last week.
Upcoming Events:
- 12:00 PM GMT – (GBP) BOE Inflation Report
- 12:00 PM GMT – (GBP) MPC Official Bank Rate Votes
- 12:00 PM GMT – (GBP) Monetary Policy Summary
- 12:00 PM GMT – (GBP) Official Bank Rate
- 12:00 PM GMT – (GBP) Asset Purchase Facility
- 12:00 PM GMT – (GBP) MPC Asset Purchase Facility Votes
- 12:30 PM GMT – (GBP) BOE Gov Carney Speaks
- Tentative – (USD) Treasury Currency Report
- &more…
