Tuesday 15th October: Asian stocks mixed on account of faded trade optimism

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Global Markets:

  • Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 1.82%, Shanghai Composite down 0.39%, Hang Seng down 0.12%, ASX up 0.14%
  • Commodities: Gold at $1495.65 (-0.13%), Silver at $17.66 (-0.27%), Brent Oil at $58.95 (-0.67%), WTI Oil at $53.27 (-0.60%)
  • Rates : US 10-year yield at 1.698, UK 10-year yield at 0.640, Germany 10-year yield at -0.462

News & Data:

  • (JPY) Revised Industrial Production m/m -1.20% vs -1.20% expected
  • (JPY) Tertiary Industry Activity m/m 0.40% vs 0.60% expected
  • (CNY) PPI y/y -1.20% vs -1.20% expected
  • (CNY) CPI y/y 3.00% vs 2.90% expected
  • (NZD) Visitor Arrivals m/m 1.40% vs 1.40% previous
  • (USD) Empire State Manufacturing Index 4 vs 1.1 expected
  • (EUR) Industrial Production m/m 0.40% vs 0.30% expected
  • (EUR) German WPI m/m -0.40% vs -0.20% expected
  • (CNY) Trade Balance 275B vs 254B expected
  • (CNY) USD-Denominated Trade Balance 39.7B vs 35.1B expected
  • China’s pork crisis sends consumer inflation rising to the brink of Beijing’s limit, highest level
  • Japan-US trade pact moves to parliamentary deliberations

Markets Update:

Asian markets were mixed in early trading Tuesday, as investors grew wary as they waited for more details about last week’s agreement for a partial trade deal between the U.S. and China. Doubts emerged Monday amid reports that Chinese officials wanted more talks before signing the phase one deal.

U.S. tariff hikes on about $160 billion in Chinese goods, scheduled to take effect in December, are apparently still on track, although tariff hikes on $250 billion of Chinese goods that were to take effect this week were postponed.

Nikkei jumps 1.8% as traders returned from a holiday in a catch-up move to positive U.S.-China trade progress Friday, but stocks retreat in China. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was about flat, while the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.4%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 inched up 0.14%.Investors are being kept on their toes as the U.S. and China try to hammer out a trade deal.

In the currency markets the pound rose against the dollar and the euro, reflecting the cautious optimism about talks between Britain and the EU. The yen, often considered a safe haven in times of economic uncertainty, held steady at 108.33 versus the dollar. Yields on 10-year Treasury bonds fell more than four basis points to 1.698%.

Oil prices fell on Tuesday, after heavy losses in the previous session, as two days of weak Chinese data added to worries about the top crude oil importer’s energy demand growth. Brent crude fell 47 cents (0.67%), to $58.95 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dropped 40 cents, or 0.6%, to $53.27. Gold prices inched up to $1495.65 on Tuesday in Asia on news of fresh troubles in Sino-U.S. trade talks.

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