Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 2.32%, Shanghai Composite up 0.33%, Hang Seng down 0.81%, ASX up 1.32%
- Commodities : Gold at $1718.70 (+0.47%), Silver at $17.85 (+0.51%), Brent Oil at $33.97 (-2.22%), WTI Oil at $31.82 (-3.02%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 0.690, UK 10-year yield at 0.210, Germany 10-year yield at -0.409
News & Data:
- (NZD) ANZ Business Confidence -41.8 vs -45.6 previous
- (AUD) Private Capital Expenditure q/q -1.60% vs -2.60% expected
- Lowe: Repeats negative interest rates extraordinarily unlikely
- RBNZ Deputy Governor Geoff Bascand says deposit rates could drop to zero and some savers might want to put their money to work elsewhere
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are mostly higher on Thursday as optimism about a recovery in growth as more economies reopen and the possibility of further stimulus helped offset worries about rising U.S.-China tensions. Stimulus announcements by Japan and the European Commission on Wednesday helped boost sentiment.
Mainland Chinese stocks were mixed on the day, with the Shanghai composite up 0.3while the Shenzhen component slipped 0.3%. Japanese stocks led gains among the major regional markets, with the Nikkei 225 rising 2.3%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped 0.8%, as of its final hour of trading, with shares of Chinese tech giant Tencent dropping more than 2.5%. Elsewhere, the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia jumped 1.3% after Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe told lawmakers that “it is possible that the economic downturn will not be severe as earlier thought.”
Crude oil prices drifted lower on Wednesday as worries about outlook for energy demand resurfaced due to rising tensions between the U.S. and China, and on reports of a likely move by Russia to increase crude output next month. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 98.885 after seeing levels above 99.6 earlier in the trading week.
Yields on 10-year U.S. Treasuries rose slightly to 0.690%. Although 10-year yields are up from an all-time low of 0.4980% struck in March, they are still a whopping 120 basis points below highs seen in January.
Upcoming Events:
- 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) Prelim GDP q/q
- 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) Core Durable Goods Orders m/m
- 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) Durable Goods Orders m/m
- 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) Unemployment Claims
- 02:00 PM GMT – (USD) Pending Home Sales m/m