Friday 17th April: Asian markets gain on US economy reopening

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Global Markets:

  • Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 3.15%, Shanghai Composite up 0.66%, Hang Seng up 1.33%, ASX up 1.31%
  • Commodities : Gold at $1710.40 (-1.23%), Silver at $15.35 (-1.75%), Brent Oil at $27.80 (-0.07%), WTI Oil at $18.12 (-8.81%)
  • Rates : US 10-year yield at 0.643, UK 10-year yield at 0.297, Germany 10-year yield at -0.468

News & Data:

  • (CNY) Industrial Production y/y -1.10% vs -7.00% expected
  • (CNY) Fixed Asset Investment ytd/y -16.10% vs -15.00% expected
  • (CNY) GDP q/y -6.80% vs -6.20% expected
  • (USD) Philly Fed Manufacturing Index -56.6 vs -30 expected
  • (USD) Building Permits 1.35M vs 1.30M expected
  • (USD) Unemployment Claims 5245K vs 5350K expected
  • Fed’s Kashkari says Trump’s ‘staged approach’ to reopen economy makes sense

Markets Update:

Asian stock markets are in positive territory on Friday, with some of the markets notably higher, after President Donald Trump unveiled broad new federal guidelines for the reopening of the U.S. economy and ending the coronavirus shutdown.

Investor sentiment also received a boost after a report said that a Gilead Sciences drug, remdesivir, showed promising results in treating COVID-19 patients. Meanwhile, investors shrugged off data that China’s first-quarter GDP contracted by 6.8 percent in the first quarter of 2020 from a year ago.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 led gains among the region’s major markets as it jumped 3.2%. The Topix index also ended its trading day 1.4% higher. Mainland Chinese stocks edged higher by the close, with the Shanghai composite up 0.7% while the Shenzhen composite added 0.3%. Shares in Australia advanced, with the S&P/ASX 200 gaining 1.3%.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 100.077, following an earlier low of 99.697. Yields on benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasuries rose slightly from a two-week low in Asia, while Treasury futures fell in another tentative sign of investor optimism.

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