Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 0.20%, Shanghai Composite down 0.42%, Hang Seng up 0.10%, ASX down 0.25%
- Commodities : Gold at $1482.90 (-0.10%), Silver at $17.13 (-0.17%), Brent Oil at $66.58 (+0.06%), WTI Oil at $61.09 (-0.15%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 1.922, UK 10-year yield at 0.800, Germany 10-year yield at -0.237
News & Data:
- (USD) Philly Fed Manufacturing Index 0.3 vs 8.1 expected
- (GBP) Official Bank Rate 0.75% vs 0.75% expected
- (GBP) MPC Official Bank Rate Votes 0-2-7 vs 0-2-7 expected
- (GBP) Retail Sales m/m -0.60% vs 0.30% expected
- Japan Nov CPI Picks Up But BOJ Caution On Outlook
- China Five Year Loan Prime Rate Unchanged At 4.80%
Markets Update:
Asian stocks were trading mixed on Friday but held near 18-month highs in thin pre-Christmas trading. Investor sentiment got a boot after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said an initial U.S.-China trade deal would be signed in early January.
Mnuchin said the agreement had already been put down on paper and translated, and it would not be subject to renegotiation. Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate has passed a $1.4-trillion spending package that will fund the government through the end of the fiscal year and prevent a possible government shutdown this weekend.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Topix indices edged down 0.2%. The country’s core consumer inflation rose 0.5% in November from a year earlier, according to government data on Friday — still far from its elusive 2% target. Mainland Chinese stocks traded lower in the afternoon.
The Shanghai composite was lower by 0.4%, while the Shenzhen component was down 0.6%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was higher, rising 0.1%. In South Korea, the Kospi went into positive territory, rising 0.4%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3% in the afternoon.
It was mostly quiet in currencies, though sterling was nursing a grudge after suffering a vicious reversal that left it facing its worst weekly fall since late 2017 at 2.4%. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 97.428, retreating from a high of 97.486 earlier.
Oil prices didn’t budge much during the morning of Asian trading hours. U.S. crude fell marginally 0.15% to $61.09 , while Brent crude was largely flat to $66.58 per barrel.
Upcoming Events:
- 09:30 AM GMT – (GBP) Current Account
- 09:30 AM GMT – (GBP) Final GDP q/q
- 11:00 AM GMT – (GBP) MPC Member Haskel Speaks
- 01:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Core Retail Sales m/m
- 01:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Retail Sales m/m
- 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Final GDP q/q
- 02:30 PM GMT – (GBP) Parliament Brexit Vote
- 03:00 PM GMT – (USD) Core PCE Price Index m/m
- 03:00 PM GMT – (USD) Personal Spending m/m
- Tentative – (USD) Treasury Currency Report
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