Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 1.97%, Shanghai Composite down 0.90%, Hang Seng down 2.34%, ASX down 2.46%
- Commodities : Gold at $1714.70 (+0.20%), Silver at $15.46 (-0.97%), Brent Oil at $22.94 (-10.29%), WTI Oil at $20.34 (-0.44%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 0.607, UK 10-year yield at 0.312, Germany 10-year yield at -0.473
News & Data:
- (GBP) Unemployment Rate 4.00% vs 3.90% expected
- (GBP) Average Earnings Index 3m/y 2.80% vs 3.00% expected
- (GBP) Claimant Count Change 12.1K vs 170.0K expected
- (CHF) Trade Balance 4.02B vs 3.23B expected
- (CAD) Wholesale Sales m/m 0.70% vs -0.20% expected
- (EUR) Trade Balance 25.8B vs 19.2B expected
- Trump to temporarily suspend U.S. immigration
- S. Officials studying N.Korean line of succession: BBG
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are in negative territory on Tuesday following the weak cues overnight on Wall Street after crude oil futures turned negative overnight for the first time in history indicating the fall in energy demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, crude oil futures for May delivery turned positive in Asian trading. Worries about the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic also weighed on the markets.
Mainland Chinese stocks fell on the day, with the Shanghai composite down 0.9% while the Shenzhen composite shed 0.8%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 2.8%. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 2.0% to close as shares of index heavyweights Fast Retailing and Softbank Group dropped. Stocks in Australia slipped, with the S&P/ASX 200 closing 2.5%.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against as basket of its peers, was last at 100.108 after an earlier low of 99.928. Crude oil prices saw an historic plunge on Monday, and with no one to buy the contract, WTI crude futures for May tumbled below zero. Crude for May delivery plummeted $55.90 to a negative $37.63 a barrel, while the more actively traded crude for June delivery plunged $4.60 or about 18.4 percent to $20.43 a barrel.
Upcoming Events:
- 09:00 AM GMT – (EUR) German ZEW Economic Sentiment
- 09:00 AM GMT – (EUR) ZEW Economic Sentiment
- 12:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Core Retail Sales m/m
- 12:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Retail Sales m/m
- 02:00 PM GMT – (USD) Existing Home Sales
- 02:30 PM GMT – (AUD) CB Leading Index m/m
- Tentative – (NZD) GDT Price Index