Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 0.15%, Shanghai Composite down 0.42%, Hang Seng up 0.22%, ASX up 0.06%
- Commodities : Gold at $1725.45 (+0.21%), Silver at $17.85 (+0.30%), Brent Oil at $40.41 (-1.87%), WTI Oil at $38.05 (-2.29%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 0.804, UK 10-year yield at 0.315, Germany 10-year yield at -0.325
News & Data:
- (JPY) PPI y/y -2.70% vs -2.40% expected
- (JPY) Core Machinery Orders m/m -12.00% vs -7.50% expected
- (NZD) Manufacturing Sales q/q 0.00% vs 2.20% previous
- (USD) 10-y Bond Auction 0.83|2.3 vs 0.70|2.7 previous
- (USD) IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism 47 vs 52.1 expected
- (USD) JOLTS Job Openings 5.05M vs 5.75M expected
- (USD) Final Wholesale Inventories m/m 0.30% vs 0.40% expected
- (CAD) Corporate Profits q/q -38.40% vs 3.60% previous
- (USD) NFIB Small Business Index 94.4 vs 92.1 expected
- (EUR) Revised GDP q/q -3.60% vs -3.80% expected
- (EUR) Final Employment Change q/q -0.20% vs -0.20% expected
- ECB’s Muller: Near Term Inflation Expectations Are Very Low
- ECB’s Muller: Near Term Inflation Expectations Are Very Low
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are mixed on Wednesday following the lackluster cues overnight from Wall Street after recent strong gains and as investors turned cautious ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement due later today. While the Fed is not expected to announce any significant policy changes, investors are still likely to pay close attention to the central bank’s assessment of the economic outlook.
In economic data, China’s inflation data for May missed expectations. Its producer price index for May fell 3.7% from a year earlier, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics. That was a larger decline that the 3.3% fall expected by analysts in a Reuters poll.
Mainland Chinese stocks were mixed on the day, with the Shanghai composite down 0.4% while the Shenzhen component added 0.5%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia closed slightly higher. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 closed 0.2% higher while the Topix index declined 0.2%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 0.2%.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s value against a basket of other major currencies, fell to a fresh three-month low at 96.106. U.S. Treasury yields were broadly lower, also reflecting a more cautious tone in world markets with 10-year government bond yields down 2 basis points at 0.80%. Oil prices were on the back foot on renewed concerns about oversupply and underlying economic weakness.
Upcoming Events:
- 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) CPI m/m
- 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) Core CPI m/m
- 06:00 PM GMT – (USD) FOMC Economic Projections
- 06:00 PM GMT – (USD) FOMC Statement
- 06:00 PM GMT – (USD) Federal Funds Rate
- 06:30 PM GMT – (USD) FOMC Press Conference