Friday 22nd November: Asian markets take a pause from falls, but uncertainty limits gains

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Global Markets:

  • Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 0.37%, Shanghai Composite down 0.75%, Hang Seng up 0.12%, ASX up 0.55%
  • Commodities : Gold at $1466.40 (+0.19%), Silver at $17.09 (+0.16%), Brent Oil at $63.51 (-0.72%), WTI Oil at $58.12 (-0.79%)
  • Rates : US 10-year yield at 1.776, UK 10-year yield at 0.752, Germany 10-year yield at -0.326

News & Data:

  • (JPY) National Core CPI y/y 0.40% vs 0.40% expected
  • (AUD) Flash Services PMI 49.5 vs 50.1 previous
  • (AUD) Flash Manufacturing PMI 49.9 vs 50 previous
  • (USD) Natural Gas Storage -94B vs -86B expected
  • (USD) Existing Home Sales 5.46M vs 5.49M expected
  • (USD) CB Leading Index m/m -0.10% vs -0.10% expected
  • (EUR) Consumer Confidence -7 vs -7 expected
  • (USD) Unemployment Claims 227K vs 215K expected
  • (USD) Philly Fed Manufacturing Index 10.4 vs 7 expected
  • (CAD) ADP Non-Farm Employment Change -22.6K vs 25.7K previous
  • (EUR) Spanish 10-y Bond Auction 0.41|1.6 vs 0.30|2.3 previous
  • (GBP) Public Sector Net Borrowing 10.5B vs 8.5B expected
  • Japan Oct. inflation up 0.4% after consumption tax hike
  • PBOC Fixes Yuan Mid Point At 7.0306 Against The Dollar
  • Trump weighs new trade investigation to justify tariffs on EU

Markets Update:

Asian stock markets are mixed on Friday amid cautious trades following the negative cues overnight from Wall Street.

Worries about U.S.-China tensions eased slightly after a report from the Wall Street Journal said China’s chief trade negotiator has invited his American counterparts to Beijing for a new round of face-to-face talks. Citing people briefed on the matter, the WSJ reported that Chinese Vice Premier Liu He extended the invitation to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin during a phone call late last week.

Mainland Chinese stocks shed earlier gains and declined by the afternoon, with the Shanghai composite down 0.8% and the Shenzhen component fell 1.5%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also pared gains but remained 0.1% higher. The Nikkei 225 rose 0.4% in afternoon trade while the Topix index was 0.2% higher.

Shares of gaming firm Nintendo, however, fell more than 3% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to equal-weight from overweight. In South Korea, the Kospi was fractionally higher. Meanwhile, shares in Australia rose as the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.6%.

U.S. Treasury yields were a shade higher. The policy-sensitive two-year yield (US2YT=RR) was at 1.6087% compared with a U.S. close of 1.605%. In currency markets, the yen was barely stronger, with the dollar buying 108.61. The euro was up 0.05% at $1.1063. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was off 0.04% at 97.958.

Oil prices retreated after hitting two-month highs following a Reuters report that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies are likely to extend existing output cuts until mid-2020.

Upcoming Events:

  • 08:15 AM GMT – (EUR) French Flash Services PMI
  • 08:15 AM GMT – (EUR) French Flash Manufacturing PMI
  • Tentative – (EUR) ECB President Lagarde Speaks
  • 08:30 AM GMT – (EUR) German Flash Manufacturing PMI
  • 08:30 AM GMT – (EUR) German Flash Services PMI
  • 09:00 AM GMT – (EUR) Flash Manufacturing PMI
  • 09:00 AM GMT – (EUR) Flash Services PMI
  • 09:30 AM GMT – (GBP) Flash Manufacturing PMI
  • 09:30 AM GMT – (GBP) Flash Services PMI
  • 01:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Core Retail Sales m/m
  • 01:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Retail Sales m/m
  • 02:45 PM GMT – (USD) Flash Manufacturing PMI
  • &more…