Global Markets:
- Asian stock markets: Nikkei up 1.51%, Hang Seng up 1.75%, ASX up 1.16%
- Commodities: Gold at $1357.80 (-0.04%), Silver at $16.890 (+0.07%), WTI Oil at $61.45 (+1.40%), Brent Oil at $65.6 (+1.09%)
- Rates: US 10-year yield at 2.913, UK 10-year yield at 1.645, German 10-year yield at 0.761
News & Data:
- (AUD) Unemployment Rate 5.50% vs 5.50% expected
- (AUD) Employment Change 16.0K vs 15.3K expected
- (USD) Crude Oil Inventories 1.8M vs 2.8M expected
- (USD) Retail Sales m/m -0.30% vs 0.20% expected
- (USD) Core Retail Sales m/m 0.00% vs 0.50% expected
- (USD) Core CPI m/m 0.30% vs 0.20% expected
- (USD) CPI m/m 0.50% vs 0.30% expected
- (EUR) Flash GDP q/q 0.60% vs 0.60% expected
- (EUR) German Prelim GDP q/q 0.60% vs 0.60% expected
- Fitch affirms New Zealand AA rating; outlook stable
- Japan's Abe, Trump agree to keep up pressure on North Korea
Markets Update:
The inflation bullet seems to be dead on arrival for the markets, as Wall Street chose to brush off the increased numbers, and closed with a 1% gain on Wednesday. Echoing the sentiment, Asian markets extended their rebound, with Hong Kong leading the rally from the front.
The surprisingly heavy drop in retail sales helped calm investors, in light of higher than expected inflation numbers for January – leading to higher Treasury yields. The 10 year US treasury yield is now at 2.90
The rise in the yen continues to hurt exporters, slowing the Nikkei, which was still trading in the green. Chinese and Korean markets are closed today on account of the Lunar New Year. The thin liquidity in the open markets can also be a reason for the magnified gains today.
The US dollar index has been on the decline. The yen has been at 15 month highs, while the euro has been making solid gains on the back of the German economic growth numbers. Aussie dollar was largely unchanged after the in-line Australian jobs print. Gold has also been on the rise, supported by the weaker dollar. Crude extended yesterday’s gains, after the Saudi energy minister hinted that key producers will continue to cap outputs.
Upcoming Events:
- 01:30 PM GMT – (CAD) ADP Non-Farm Employment Change
- 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) PPI m/m
- 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Core PPI m/m
- 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Empire State Manufacturing Index
- 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Philly Fed Manufacturing Index
- 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Unemployment Claims
- 02:15 PM GMT – (USD) Capacity Utilization Rate
- 02:15 PM GMT – (USD) Industrial Production m/m
- 06:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Gov Council Member Schembri Speaks
- 09:30 PM GMT – (NZD) Business NZ Manufacturing Index
- 10:30 PM GMT – (AUD) RBA Gov Lowe Speaks
- &more…
