Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 0.22%, Shanghai Composite up 0.45%, Hang Seng down 0.19%, ASX up 0.68%
- Commodities : Gold at $1509.15 (+0.30%), Silver at $18.03 (+1.28%), Brent Oil at $61.45 (-0.36%), WTI Oil at $55.99 (-0.43%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 1.757, UK 10-year yield at 0.625, Germany 10-year yield at -0.404
News & Data:
- (USD) Flash Manufacturing PMI 51.5 vs 50.7 expected
- (USD) Durable Goods Orders m/m -1.10% vs -0.50% expected
- (USD) Core Durable Goods Orders m/m -0.30% vs -0.20% expected
- (EUR) Main Refinancing Rate 0.00% vs 0.00% expected
- (EUR) Flash Services PMI 51.8 vs 51.9 expected
- (EUR) Flash Manufacturing PMI 45.7 vs 46.1 expected
- (EUR) German Flash Services PMI 51.2 vs 52 expected
- (EUR) German Flash Manufacturing PMI 41.9 vs 42 expected
- (EUR) French Flash Manufacturing PMI 50.5 vs 50 expected
- (EUR) French Flash Services PMI 52.9 vs 51.6 expected
- (EUR) Spanish Unemployment Rate 13.90% vs 13.80% expected
- Chinese Commercial Banks Sold Net $3.4 Bln Of Forex In September Versus $5.4 Bln Sold In August – FX Regulator
- China to ask U.S. to remove tariffs in exchange for ag buys in talks Friday – Sources
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are mostly lower on Friday following the mixed cues overnight from Wall Street amid continued uncertainty over Brexit and the U.S.-China trade tensions. Investors also turned cautious following the release of Amazon.com’s earnings results that showed the e-commerce giant’s first quarterly profit drop in more than two years.
Investors are also nervous ahead of a summit in Chile where U.S. President Donald Trump hopes to finalise a partial trade deal with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. Rattling confidence was a speech by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday, which criticised China’s handling of the Hong Kong protests and its treatment of Muslim Uighurs in the Xinjiang region. Those comments sent the S&P 500 index briefly lower.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan seesawed to trade higher by 0.2%, while the TOPIX was higher by 0.3%. Chinese mainland markets reversed early losses to trade higher by 0.5%. The ASX in Australia traded higher by 0.7%. In South Korea, KOSPI traded flat. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dropped 0.2%.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, nudged 0.07% higher to 97.701. Oil prices were lower after rising on Thursday on a surprise drop in U.S. crude inventories and the hopes for market-supporting actions by OPEC and its allies.
Upcoming Events:
- 06:00 AM GMT – (EUR) German GfK Consumer Climate
- 08:00 AM GMT – (EUR) German Ifo Business Climate
- 02:00 PM GMT – (USD) Revised UoM Consumer Sentiment
- 02:00 PM GMT – (USD) Revised UoM Inflation Expectations
- Tentative – (USD) Federal Budget Balance
