Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 0.55%, Shanghai Composite down 0.04%, Hang Seng up 0.66%, ASX up 0.31%
- Commodities : Gold at $1494.65 (-0.07%), Silver at $17.57 (-0.07%), Brent Oil at $60.97 (-0.33%), WTI Oil at $55.64 (-0.59%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 1.749, UK 10-year yield at 0.677, Germany 10-year yield at -0.403
News & Data:
- (AUD) Flash Services PMI 50.8 vs 52.5 previous
- (AUD) Flash Manufacturing PMI 50.1 vs 50.3 previous
- (USD) Crude Oil Inventories -1.7M vs 2.5M expected
- (EUR) Consumer Confidence -8 vs -7 expected
- (USD) HPI m/m 0.20% vs 0.40% expected
- (CAD) Wholesale Sales m/m -1.20% vs 0.30% expected
- (EUR) German 10-y Bond Auction -0.41|2.3 vs -0.61|2.4 previous
- (JPY) BOJ Core CPI y/y 0.30% vs 0.40% previous
- U.S.-China trade reprieve makes no dent on recession chances: Reuters poll
- Debt burden of Chinese State-owned enterprises decreases in 2018
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are mostly higher on Thursday following the modest gains on Wall Street and as upbeat corporate earnings results helped offset concerns about the Brexit uncertainty and the U.S.-China trade war. Overnight, luxury electric car maker Tesla reported a surprise third-quarter profit, while software giant Mircrosoft reported results for the first quarter that beat analysts’ expectations. At the same time latest figures showed that South Korea’s economy continued to slow. Investors, meanwhile, look ahead to the European Central Bank meeting on Thursday.
Mainland Chinese markets were in negative territory by late morning. The Shanghai composite traded flat, while the Shenzhen composite declined 0.2%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index bucked the trend, rising 0.47%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.3%. Oil stocks gained, with Santos jumping 2.7%, and Woodside Petroleum up 2.6%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 0.6%. In South Korea, the Kospi was flat, with a slew of earning reports expected in the day.
Currency markets stuck to tight ranges ahead of key central bank meetings this week and next with the euro zone, Japan and United States due to review policy. European and U.S. manufacturing numbers are due later in the day.
In commodity markets, U.S. crude eased 33 cents to $55.64 while Brent slipped 24 cents to $60.97. Gold was treading water at $1,494.65 an ounce.
Upcoming Events:
- 07:00 AM GMT – (EUR) Spanish Unemployment Rate
- 07:15 AM GMT – (EUR) French Flash Services PMI
- 07:15 AM GMT – (EUR) French Flash Manufacturing PMI
- 07:30 AM GMT – (EUR) German Flash Manufacturing PMI
- 07:30 AM GMT – (EUR) German Flash Services PMI
- 08:00 AM GMT – (EUR) Flash Manufacturing PMI
- 08:00 AM GMT – (EUR) Flash Services PMI
- 11:45 AM GMT – (EUR) Monetary Policy Statement
- 11:45 AM GMT – (EUR) Main Refinancing Rate
- 12:30 PM GMT – (EUR) ECB Press Conference
- 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) Core Durable Goods Orders m/m
- 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) Durable Goods Orders m/m
- 01:45 PM GMT – (USD) Flash Manufacturing PMI
