Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 4.50%, Shanghai Composite down 0.57%, Hang Seng down 2.59%, ASX up 3.58%
- Commodities : Gold at $1599.75 (+0.20%), Silver at $14.10 (-0.38%), Brent Oil at $25.57 (-2.96%), WTI Oil at $20.71 (+1.12%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 0.618, UK 10-year yield at 0.298, Germany 10-year yield at -0.516
News & Data:
- (CNY) Caixin Manufacturing PMI 50.1 vs 45 expected
- (USD) CB Consumer Confidence 120 vs 115.1 expected
- (USD) Chicago PMI 47.8 vs 44.1 expected
- (CAD) GDP m/m 0.10% vs 0.10% expected
- (GBP) Current Account -5.6B vs -7.0B expected
Markets Update:
Asian markets were mixed on Wednesday morning as a Chinese private survey showed a slight expansion in manufacturing activity in the country in March. The Caixin Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for March was 50.1, higher than analyst predictions of 45.5 compiled by Investing.com.
The PMI for February was 40.3 as the COVID-19 pandemic closed factories across the country. March’s PMI figure above 50 indicates an expansion, whilst the February figure indicated the sharpest contraction on record. The Caixin report came after the official PMI report, released on Tuesday, also showed manufacturing activity in China unexpectedly expanded.
Mainland Chinese stocks edged higher by the afternoon, with the Shanghai composite lower 0.6% while the Shenzhen composite lost 0.2%. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong, on the other hand, dipped 2.6%. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dropped 4.5% in afternoon trade while the Topix index shed3.7%. The big manufacturer’s index in the Bank of Japan’s Tankan March 2020 for the first quarter came in at -8. That was its lowest level since March 2013, according to Reuters. Still, that was above expectations of a reading of -10 in a Reuters poll.
Crude oil benchmarks ended a volatile quarter with their biggest losses in history, with both U.S. and Brent futures hammered throughout March due to the pandemic and the eruption of a Saudi-Russia price war.
The dollar fell broadly on Tuesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it would allow foreign central banks to exchange their U.S. Treasury securities holdings for overnight dollar loans to ease a dollar funding crunch.
Upcoming Events:
- 12:15 PM GMT – (USD) ADP Non-Farm Employment Change
- 02:00 PM GMT – (USD) ISM Manufacturing PMI