Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 0.04%, Shanghai Composite up 0.37%, Hang Seng up 1.21%, ASX up 3.46%
- Commodities : Gold at $1695.45 (+0.66%), Silver at $15.37 (+1.10%), Brent Oil at $33.83 (+3.01%), WTI Oil at $26.44 (+5.38%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 0.759, UK 10-year yield at 0.363, Germany 10-year yield at -0.314
News & Data:
- (GBP) GDP m/m -0.10% vs 0.10% expected
- (NZD) ANZ Business Confidence -73.1 vs -63.5 previous
- ECB’s Lagarde: A Cancellation Of Debts From The Crisis Seems Totally Unthinkable To Me
- Kuroda: Japan’s economy faces ‘extremely high’ uncertainty on pandemic hit
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are mostly higher on Thursday following the overnight rally on Wall Street amid optimism that coronavirus infections around the world are nearing a peak and on expectations of more stimulus measures by governments.
Investors now look ahead to the release of the U.S. weekly jobless claims report later in the day, with the report expected to shed more light on the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on the U.S. economy.
Mainland Chinese stocks dipped on the day to recover later on, with the Shanghai composite up 0.4%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also gained 1.2%. Japanese stocks seesawed throughout the day to trade flat. Shares in Australia led gains among the region’s major markets, with the S&P/ASX 200 jumping 3.5%.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 100.134 after seeing an earlier low of 99.992. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia – a group known as OPEC+ – are set to convene a video conference meeting on Thursday. Hopes of an agreement to cut between 10 million and 15 million barrels per day (bpd) rose after media reports suggested Russia was ready to reduce its output by 1.6 million bpd.
Upcoming Events:
- 11:30 AM GMT – (EUR) ECB Monetary Policy Meeting Accounts
- 12:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Employment Change
- 12:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Unemployment Rate
- 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) Unemployment Claims
- 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) Core PPI m/m
- 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) PPI m/m
- 02:00 PM GMT – (USD) Prelim UoM Consumer Sentiment