Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 0.07%, Shanghai Composite down 0.48%, Hang Seng down 0.03%, ASX up 0.67%
- Commodities : Gold at $1552.95 (-0.07%), Silver at $17.92 (-0.41%), Brent Oil at $64.41 (+0.64%), WTI Oil at $58.21 (+0.69%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 1.797, UK 10-year yield at 0.647, Germany 10-year yield at -0.213
News & Data:
- (USD) Crude Oil Inventories -2.5M vs 0.4M expected
- (USD) PPI m/m 0.10% vs 0.20% expected
- (USD) Core PPI m/m 0.10% vs 0.20% expected
- (GBP) PPI Input m/m 0.10% vs 0.20% expected
- (GBP) CPI y/y 1.30% vs 1.50% expected
- China Makes Significant Commitments to Improve Intellectual Property Protection in Phase 1 Trade Deal
- Fed Fuels Rise in Risk Assets With Balance Sheet, Kaplan Says
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets mostly muted on Thursday as investors digested details of the phase one trade deal that was signed by between the U.S. and China overnight. The deal calls for China to purchase $200 billion worth of U.S. goods over the next two years, including up to $50 billion worth of agricultural products. However, investors also weighed the likely impact of Trump administration’s decision to leave the 25 percent tariff on $250 billion worth of Chinese imports in place till the second phase of the trade deal.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was flat but the Chinese mainland markets dropped. The Shanghai composite traded down 0.5% while the Shenzhen composite traded 0.2% lower. Australia’s benchmark ASX 200 rose 0.7% as most sectors traded higher. The heavily-weighted financial subindex rose 0.9% as the country’s major banking stocks advanced.
The Japanese market pared initial gains and is modestly higher following the signing of the long-awaited trade deal between the U.S. and China. Upbeat Japanese core machinery orders data failed to boost sentiment. The Nikkei is trading higher by 0.1%.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar last traded at 97.202 against a basket of currencies, moving little from its previous close at 97.229. The 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield slipped to one-week low of 1.780% compared with a high of 1.900% last Thursday and last stood at 1.797%. In contrast, the Chinese yuan hovered just below its 5-1/2-month high touched earlier this week after Washington dropped its currency manipulator label on China.
Oil prices edged back after touching a six-week trough the previous day on data showing big increases in U.S. refined products and hopes for more Chinese purchases of U.S. oil and gas.
Upcoming Events:
- 09:30 AM GMT – (GBP) BOE Credit Conditions Survey
- 12:30 PM GMT – (EUR) ECB Monetary Policy Meeting Accounts
- 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Core Retail Sales m/m
- 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Retail Sales m/m
- 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Philly Fed Manufacturing Index
- 03:00 PM GMT – (USD) FOMC Member Bowman Speaks
- 06:00 PM GMT – (EUR) ECB President Lagarde Speaks