Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 5.38%, Shanghai Composite down 3.01%, Hang Seng down 4.15%, ASX down 7.33%
- Commodities : Gold at $1673.30 (+0.05%), Silver at $16.73 (-3.10%), Brent Oil at $33.95 (-25.01%), WTI Oil at $30.16 (-26.94%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 0.478, UK 10-year yield at 0.233, Germany 10-year yield at -0.804
News & Data:
- (CNY) USD-Denominated Trade Balance -7.1B vs 46.8B previous
- (CNY) Trade Balance -43B vs 329B previous
- (USD) Unemployment Rate 3.50% vs 3.60% expected
- (USD) Non-Farm Employment Change 273K vs 175K expected
- (USD) Average Hourly Earnings m/m 0.30% vs 0.30% expected
- (CAD) Unemployment Rate 5.60% vs 5.60% expected
- (CAD) Trade Balance -1.5B vs -0.8B expected
- (CAD) Employment Change 30.3K vs 10.5K expected
- BoJ’s Kuroda: Will Act Without Hesitation Based On Last Week’s Statement
- Orr: Banking sector prepared for responding to COVID-19
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are sharply lower on Monday as a plunge in crude oil prices added to worries about the rapid spread of the coronavirus outbreak across the world. Crude oil plummeted 26 percent in Asian trading amid fears of a price war after a proposal by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries or OPEC for deeper output cuts was rejected by its allies.
Saudi Arabia slashed its official oil prices and reportedly plans to ramp up production following the breakdown in talks between OPEC and Russia.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan fell 5.4%, while the Topix was down 5.6%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index plunged 4.2% by the afternoon. Mainland Chinese stocks also saw declines, with the Shanghai composite down about 3.0% while the Shenzhen component shed 3.7%. Meanwhile, stocks in Australia tanked, with the S&P/ASX 200 down 7.3%. Singapore Straits Times Index also fell more than 4%.
A tectonic shift saw markets fully price in an easing of 75 basis points from the Fed on March 18, while a cut to near zero was now seen as likely by April. The European Central Bank meets on Thursday and will be under intense pressure to act, but rates there are already deeply negative.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 95.148 after earlier touching a low of 94.882.
Upcoming Events:
Tuesday, March 10, 2020
- 12:30 AM GMT – (AUD) NAB Business Confidence
- 01:00 AM GMT – (NZD) RBNZ Gov Orr Speaks
- 01:30 AM GMT – (CNY) CPI y/y
- 10th-15th GMT – (CNY) New Loans
- 10:00 PM GMT – (AUD) RBA Deputy Gov Debelle Speaks
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
- 09:30 AM GMT – (GBP) GDP m/m
- 09:30 AM GMT – (GBP) Manufacturing Production m/m
- 11:30 AM GMT – (GBP) Annual Budget Release
- 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) CPI m/m
- 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) Core CPI m/m
- 02:30 PM GMT – (USD) Crude Oil Inventories
Thursday, March 12, 2020
- 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) Core PPI m/m
- 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) PPI m/m
- 12:45 PM GMT – (EUR) Main Refinancing Rate
- 12:45 PM GMT – (EUR) Monetary Policy Statement
- 01:30 PM GMT – (EUR) ECB Press Conference
Friday, March 13, 2020
- 02:00 PM GMT – (USD) Prelim UoM Consumer Sentiment