Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 2.72%, Shanghai Composite down 1.21%, Hang Seng down 2.44%, ASX down 2.81%
- Commodities : Gold at $1671.95 (+0.24%), Silver at $17.33 (-0.35%), Brent Oil at $49.66 (-0.66%), WTI Oil at $45.62 (-0.61%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 0.818, UK 10-year yield at 0.329, Germany 10-year yield at -0.706
News & Data:
- (EUR) German Factory Orders m/m 5.50% vs 1.50% expected
- (JPY) Leading Indicators 90.30% vs 91.30% expected
- (AUD) Retail Sales m/m -0.30% vs 0.00% expected
- (JPY) Household Spending y/y -3.90% vs -3.90% expected
- (JPY) Average Cash Earnings y/y 1.50% vs 0.20% expected
- (AUD) AIG Services Index 47 vs 47.4 previous
- (USD) Natural Gas Storage -109B vs -112B expected
- (USD) Factory Orders m/m -0.50% vs -0.20% expected
- (USD) Unemployment Claims 216K vs 215K expected
- (USD) Revised Unit Labor Costs q/q 0.90% vs 1.50% expected
- (USD) Revised Nonfarm Productivity q/q 1.20% vs 1.40% expected
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are in negative territory on Friday following the steep losses overnight on Wall Street amid lingering worries about the rapid spread of the coronavirus worldwide and its impact on the global economy. The spread of the coronavirus has now accelerated in Europe, North America and Britain. According to the World Health Organization, the coronavirus has infected at least 95,270 people and killed more than 3,200 worldwide.
Mainland Chinese stocks edged lower in afternoon trade, with the Shanghai composite down about 1.2% and the Shenzhen component shedding around 0.9%. Stocks in Australia also fell, with the S&P/ASX 200 dropping about 2.8%.
Australia retail turnover in January fell 0.3% month-on-month on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the country’s Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Japanese stocks led losses as the Nikkei 225 dropped 2.7%, with shares of index heavyweight and conglomerate Softbank Group plunging 6%, as the Topix index fell 2.9%.
Stocks stateside fell sharply as the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield fell to an all-time low below 0.9%. The 10-year Treasury yield was last at 0.8207%. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 96.548 after declining from levels above 97.3 yesterday.
Against the Japanese yen , the dollar fell to a six-month low and was last at 105.84 yen. The greenback also sank to a two-year trough of 0.9438 Swiss franc. Crude oil prices declined sharply on Thursday amid reports the OPEC has recommended an extension of current output cuts and reduce output by another 1.5 million barrels a day for the second quarter.
Upcoming Events:
- All Day – OPEC-JMMC Meetings
- 01:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Employment Change
- 01:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Trade Balance
- 01:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Unemployment Rate
- 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Average Hourly Earnings m/m
- 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Non-Farm Employment Change
- 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Unemployment Rate