Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 1.22%, ASX down 2.48%
- Commodities : Gold at $1777.35 (+0.13%), Silver at $17.66 (-0.04%), Brent Oil at $40.01 (-0.74%), WTI Oil at $37.75 (-0.68%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 0.672, UK 10-year yield at 0.189, Germany 10-year yield at -0.452
News & Data:
- (EUR) German GfK Consumer Climate -9.6 vs -11.7 expected
- (JPY) All Industries Activity m/m -6.40% vs -6.50% expected
- (NZD) Trade Balance 1253M vs 1279M expected
- (USD) Crude Oil Inventories 1.4M vs 1.2M expected
- (USD) HPI m/m 0.20% vs 0.30% expected
- (EUR) Belgian NBB Business Climate -22.9 vs -25.1 expected
- (EUR) German ifo Business Climate 86.2 vs 85 expected
- (CHF) Credit Suisse Economic Expectations 48.7 vs 31.3 previous
- China taps World Bank official for U.S.-facing finance post: sources
- New forecast predicts 180,000 U.S. deaths from COVID-19 by October
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are in negative territory on Thursday following the overnight sell-off on Wall Street as the spiking number of new coronavirus cases in several U.S. states dashed hopes of a quick economic recovery. Adding to worries, the International Monetary Fund or IMF forecast a deeper recession for this year, saying it now expects the global economy to shrink by 4.9 percent in 2020, compared to a 3 percent contraction projected earlier.
Markets in China and Hong Kong are closed on Thursday for a holiday. The Japanese market is notably lower, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index losing 1.2 percent. Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is adding 0.2 percent, while Fast Retailing is declining more than 1 percent.
Shares in Australia also declined, with the S&P/ASX 200 falling 2.5%. South Korea’s Kospi led losses among the region’s major markets as it slipped 1.8%. Over in Southeast Asia, the Straits Times index fell 1.3%.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 97.32 after rising from levels below 97 seen earlier.
Crude oil prices declined sharply on Wednesday as worries about the outlook for energy demand rose after data showing a surge in coronavirus cases raised the possibility of another lockdown in several parts of the globe.
Upcoming Events:
- 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) Core Durable Goods Orders m/m
- 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) Durable Goods Orders m/m
- 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) Final GDP q/q
- 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) Unemployment Claims
- 08:30 PM GMT – (USD) Bank Stress Test Results