Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Shanghai Composite up 1.61%, Hang Seng up 4.38%, ASX up 0.70%
- Commodities : Gold at $1508.10 (+1.95%), Silver at $12.79 (+5.43%), Brent Oil at $29.88 (+4.95%), WTI Oil at $27.50 (+6.14%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 1.075, UK 10-year yield at 0.621, Germany 10-year yield at -0.258
News & Data:
- (GBP) Official Bank Rate 0.10% vs 0.25% previous
- (GBP) MPC Official Bank Rate Votes 0-9-0 vs 0-9-0 previous
- (USD) Unemployment Claims 281K vs 220K expected
- (USD) Philly Fed Manufacturing Index -12.7 vs 9.5 expected
- (EUR) German Prelim Ifo Business Climate 87.7 vs 96 previous
- (CHF) SNB Policy Rate -0.75% vs -0.75% expected
- Russia said to see Saudi oil plan as blackmail, will not back down
- China Maintains Benchmark Lending Rates
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are mostly higher on Friday following the overnight rebound in the U.S. and European markets, as massive relief packages announced by global central banks and governments to ease the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic boosted investor sentiment. The Japanese market is closed for a holiday.
After the Federal Reserve’s fiscal stimulus and the European Central Bank’s asset purchase scheme launch on Wednesday, the Bank of England cut its interest rate for the second time this month and expanded its bond buying scheme, extending further support to the UK economy amid the spread of the coronavirus, or COVID-19. Meanwhile, China left its benchmark lending rates unchanged on Friday, defying expectations for a reduction as economic activity faces severe downturn after the outbreak of COVID-19.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also jumped 4.4%, as of its final hour of trading. Mainland Chinese stocks also edged higher on the day, with the Shanghai composite 1.6% higher while the Shenzhen composite added 1.4%. Markets in Japan were closed on Friday for a holiday.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 101.741 after it touched an earlier high of 102.922. The dollar’s surge is a nightmare for the many countries and companies that have borrowed heavily in the dollar, leading to yet more selling of emerging market currencies in a negative feedback loop. Such was the stress that dealers hear whispers of a new Plaza Accord, the 1985 agreement when major central banks used mass intervention to restrain a rampant dollar.
Upcoming Events:
- 12:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Core Retail Sales m/m
- 12:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Retail Sales m/m