Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 0.65%, Shanghai Composite down 1.03%, Hang Seng down 0.08%, ASX up 0.99%
- Commodities : Gold at $1276.85 (-0.20%), Silver at $14.86 (-0.36%), Brent Oil at $74.69 (+0.16%), WTI Oil at $65.89 (0.00%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 2.522, UK 10-year yield at 1.177, Germany 10-year yield at -0.011
News & Data:
- (CAD) Overnight Rate 1.75% vs 1.75% expected
- (GBP) Public Sector Net Borrowing 0.8B vs -0.8B expected
- (EUR) German Ifo Business Climate 99.2 vs 99.9 expected
- BOJ to paint bleak inflation outlook, keep policy steady
- China Stats Bureau Head: Chinese Economy Has Stabilized And Is Showing Upward Momentum – Exports Facing Risks From Falling Global Demand
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are mostly lower on Thursday following the modest losses overnight on Wall Street amid mixed corporate earnings results. Worries about global economic growth also weighed on investor sentiment after Germany’s business confidence unexpectedly weakened in April and South Korea’s economy unexpectedly shrunk in the first quarter.
The Japanese market is modestly higher, recovering after a weak start following the modest losses overnight on Wall Street. The Nikkei last traded higher by 0.6%. Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan kept monetary policy steady, and said it intends to keep interest rates “extremely low” until at least till 2020.
The Shanghai composite declining 1% and the Shenzhen component shedding about 1.6%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped marginally as shares of Chinese tech giant Tencent fell more than 0.6%.
In the currency market, the dollar index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of six major peers, rose to as high as 98.189 overnight, its highest level since May 2017. The British pound held at a two-month low, weighed down by a broad-based rally in the dollar and fading hopes of a breakthrough in Brexit talks between the British government and the opposition. U.S. Treasury yields fell across maturities on Wednesday as investors piled into the safe-haven asset after a slew of weak international economic data.
In commodities, oil prices hovered below six-month highs on Thursday as record U.S. output and rising crude stockpiles dampened the impact on markets of tighter U.S. sanctions on Iran and producer club OPEC’s continued curbs on supply.
Upcoming Events:
- 08:00 AM GMT – (EUR) Spanish Unemployment Rate
- 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Core Durable Goods Orders m/m
- 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Durable Goods Orders m/m
- Tentative – (USD) Treasury Currency Report
- 11:45 PM GMT – (NZD) Trade Balance
