Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 0.37%, Shanghai Composite down 0.41%, Hang Seng up 0.76%, ASX down 0.17%
- Commodities : Gold at $1345.05 (+0.02%), Silver at $15.99 (+0.16%), Brent Oil at $66.33 (-0.18%), WTI Oil at $56.48 (+0.05%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 2.643, UK 10-year yield at 1.171, Germany 10-year yield at 0.106
News & Data:
- (AUD) Wage Price Index q/q 0.50% vs 0.60% expected
- (EUR) German ZEW Economic Sentiment -13.4 vs -14.1 expected
- (GBP) Unemployment Rate 4.00% vs 4.00% expected
- (GBP) Average Earnings Index 3m/y 3.40% vs 3.50% expected
- FOMC minutes to reinforce ‘patient’ mode; may offer clues on balance sheet reduction
- PBOC Makes First Use of New Tool Aimed at Boosting Bank Capital
- TLTROs Among Tools ECB Considering, Says VP
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are mostly mixed on Wednesday following the gains on Wall Street after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S.-China trade talks are “going very well” and once again hinted that an early March deadline to reach a deal could be postponed.
Mainland Chinese markets slipped by the end of the morning session. The Shanghai composite declined around 0.4 percent while the Shenzhen component shed 0.5 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.8 percent. Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese investment bank China International Capital Corp jumped more than 3 percent after an exchange disclosure showed on Monday that tech behemoth Alibaba had increased its stake in the company to almost 12 percent.
The Japanese market is rising following the modest gains on Wall Street and on a weaker yen after Japan’s trade deficit for January came in wider than expected. The Nikkei is trading 0.4 percent higher. The ASX 200 in Australia slipped 0.2 percent in afternoon trade as the sectors mostly traded lower.
Investors are also looking to the release later on Wednesday of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s January policy-setting meeting, where policymakers effectively signalled no further rate hikes and possible tweaks to its balance sheet normalization.
In the currency market, the euro firmed to $1.1350, bouncing back from Friday’s three-month low of $1.1234, on the back of improving risk appetites. The dollar gained 0.2 percent to 110.80 yen, edging near Thursday’s seven-week peak of 111.13. The Chinese yuan rose more than 0.5 percent to 6.7243 per dollar, its highest level in about three weeks after Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that the United States was seeking to secure a pledge from China that it will not devalue its yuan currency as part of a trade deal. The yuan’s strength also sparked bids for Asian currencies, with the Thai baht hitting five-year highs.
Oil prices hovered near 2019 highs, supported by OPEC-led supply cuts and U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela, but further gains were capped by soaring U.S. production and expectations of an economic slowdown.
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