Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 2.13%, Shanghai Composite up 0.17%, Hang Seng down 0.84%, ASX down 0.75%
- Commodities : Gold at $1653.15 (+0.61%), Silver at $18.06 (+1.24%), Brent Oil at $51.96 (-1.61%), WTI Oil at $47.91 (-1.68%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 1.297, UK 10-year yield at 0.507, Germany 10-year yield at -0.501
News & Data:
- (AUD) Private Capital Expenditure q/q -2.80% vs 0.50% expected
- (NZD) ANZ Business Confidence -19.4 vs -13.2 previous
- (USD) Crude Oil Inventories 0.5M vs 2.3M expected
- (USD) New Home Sales 764K vs 714K expected
- Bank of Korea holds rates at 1.25%
- Trump: Have Plans On Quarantines On Larger Scale If Needed
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets, led by Japan, are mostly lower and U.S. stock futures fell on Thursday amid concerns about the rapid spread of the coronavirus outside China and its impact on the global economy.
Adding to worries, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday confirmed the first U.S. coronavirus case of unknown origin in California, noting that it was possible this could be an instance of “community spread” of the coronavirus in the country. South Korea’s central unexpectedly left rates unchanged, dashing hopes for a cut.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 plunged 2.1%. The country’s industrial production, jobs, and retail sales figures are due on Friday. Mainland Chinese stocks, on the other hand, bucked the overall trend regionally as they saw gains. However, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index saw declines of 0.8% by the afternoon.
The Shanghai composite rose about 0.2% while the Shenzhen component was up 0.4%. In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.8% as shares of major banks in the country sold off.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, traded at 98.986, after seeing an earlier high of 99.051. Bond yields fell Wednesday after Bloomberg News cited a Food and Drug Administration official saying the coronavirus was on the cusp of a pandemic.
Upcoming Events:
- 01:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Current Account
- 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Core Durable Goods Orders m/m
- 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Durable Goods Orders m/m
- 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Prelim GDP q/q
- 03:00 PM GMT – (USD) Pending Home Sales m/m
- &more…