Monday 11th March: Asian markets see-saw; Powell affirms that the Fed isn’t too keen on raising rates

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Global Markets:

  • Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 0.38%, Shanghai Composite up 1.23%, Hang Seng up 0.63%, ASX down 0.38%
  • Commodities : Gold at $1298.85 (-0.03%), Silver at $15.36 (+0.05%), Brent Oil at $66.02 (+0.43%), WTI Oil at $56.38 (+0.55%)
  • Rates : US 10-year yield at 2.641, UK 10-year yield at 1.180, Germany 10-year yield at 0.071

News & Data:

  • (CNY) CPI y/y 1.50% vs 1.50% expected
  • (USD) Building Permits 1.35M vs 1.29M expected
  • (USD) Unemployment Rate 3.80% vs 3.90% expected
  • (USD) Non-Farm Employment Change 20K vs 180K expected
  • (USD) Average Hourly Earnings m/m 0.40% vs 0.30% expected
  • (CAD) Unemployment Rate 5.80% vs 5.80% expected
  • (CAD) Employment Change 55.9K vs 0.6K expected
  • (CNY) Trade Balance 34B vs 257B expected
  • ECB’S Coeure Says Italy Is Only Euro-Area Country Not Growing

Markets Update:

Asian equities were mostly higher in morning trade on Monday after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank is not in “any hurry” to change interest rates levels again.

Chinese retail sales, investment, credit and industrial production data for January and February are all scheduled for release this week. Sino-U.S. trade developments remained in focus after Yi Gang, People’s Bank of China Governor, said the two sides have reached consensus on many “crucial” issues.

The Shanghai composite gained 1.2 percent in morning trade while the Shenzhen composite was up 2.7 percent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 see-sawed between gains and losses to trade up 0.4 percent mid-morning while the Topix index added 0.6 percent. In South Korea, the Kospi reversed early advances to trade flat. The ASX 200 in Australia fell 0.4 percent in afternoon trade as most sectors declined.

The U.S. economy created only 20,000 jobs in February, the weakest reading since September 2017. As a result, bond yields dropped, with the 10-year Treasuries yield hitting a two-month low of 2.607 percent. It last stood at 2.641 percent. Chinese data released over the weekend was slightly weaker though hopes for more policy support are likely to cushion any blows. New bank loans in China fell a bit more than expected in February from a record the previous month, while money supply growth also missed forecasts. Following the data, China’s central bank on Sunday pledged to further support the slowing economy by spurring loans and lowering borrowing costs.

Upcoming Events:

Monday, March 11, 2019

  • 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Core Retail Sales m/m
  • 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Retail Sales m/m
  • 02:00 PM GMT – (GBP) MPC Member Haskel Speaks

Tuesday, March 12, 2019

  • 01:00 AM GMT – (USD) Fed Chair Powell Speaks
  • Tentative – (AUD) RBA Assist Gov Debelle Speaks
  • 10:30 AM GMT – (GBP) GDP m/m
  • 10:30 AM GMT – (GBP) Manufacturing Production m/m
  • 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) CPI m/m
  • 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Core CPI m/m
  • 02:45 PM GMT – (USD) FOMC Member Brainard Speaks
  • Tentative – (GBP) Parliament Brexit Vote

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

  • Tentative – (GBP) Annual Budget Release
  • 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Core Durable Goods Orders m/m
  • 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) PPI m/m
  • 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Core PPI m/m
  • 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Durable Goods Orders m/m

Thursday, March 14, 2019

  • 03:00 AM GMT – (CNY) Fixed Asset Investment ytd/y
  • 03:00 AM GMT – (CNY) Industrial Production y/y
  • 11:50 PM GMT – (CAD) Gov Council Member Wilkins Speaks

Friday, March 15, 2019

  • Tentative – (JPY) Monetary Policy Statement
  • Tentative – (JPY) BOJ Press Conference
  • Tentative – (JPY) BOJ Gov Kuroda Speaks
  • 01:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Manufacturing Sales m/m
  • 03:00 PM GMT – (USD) Prelim UoM Consumer Sentiment
  • &more…

 

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