Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 0.06%, Shanghai Composite down 0.19%, Hang Seng up 1.26%, ASX down 0.16%
- Commodities : Gold at $1714.90 (-0.52%), Silver at $15.01 (-1.35%), Brent Oil at $22.21 (-3.73%), WTI Oil at $10.32 (-19.25%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 0.657, UK 10-year yield at 0.304, Germany 10-year yield at -0.440
News & Data:
- (EUR) Spanish Unemployment Rate 14.40% vs 15.60% expected
- (JPY) BOJ Core CPI y/y 0.10% vs 0.20% expected
- (JPY) Unemployment Rate 2.50% vs 2.50% expected
Markets Update:
Asian stocks were mixed on Tuesday morning, losing their modest gains from the day before as they reacted to oil’s plunge during the last session. WTI Futures plunged almost 25% overnight, while Brent Futures fell almost 7% as investors fear an inevitable global oversupply as the demand sapped by the COVID-19 pandemic shows no sign of recovery.
Mainland Chinese stocks edged lower on the day, with the Shanghai composite down 0.2%. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 closed fractionally lower while the Topix index ended its trading day 0.1% higher. Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.2%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index added 1.3%, as of its final hour of trading.
The U.S. dollar and the euro were little changed as traders refrained from taking big positions before a U.S. Federal Reserve policy decision due on Wednesday and a European Central Bank (ECB) meeting on Thursday.
The Fed has already announced a raft of measures to cushion the blow to the economy from the coronavirus pandemic and the U.S. central bank is expected to stay on hold this week. The ECB is likely to extend its debt purchases to include junk bonds and provide a backstop for corporate financing.
Upcoming Events:
- 10:00 AM GMT – (GBP) CBI Realized Sales
- Tentative – (GBP) 10-y Bond Auction
- 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) Goods Trade Balance
- 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) Prelim Wholesale Inventories m/m
- 01:00 PM GMT – (USD) S&P/CS Composite-20 HPI y/y
- 02:00 PM GMT – (USD) CB Consumer Confidence
- 02:00 PM GMT – (USD) Richmond Manufacturing Index
- 10:45 PM GMT – (NZD) Trade Balance
- 11:01 PM GMT – (GBP) BRC Shop Price Index y/y