Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 0.19%, Shanghai Composite down 0.01%, Hang Seng up 0.87%, ASX up 0.13%
- Commodities : Gold at $1792.95 (+1.02%), Silver at $26.48 (+2.40%), Brent Oil at $72.81 (-0.37%), WTI Oil at $70.89 (-0.21%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 1.487, UK 10-year yield at 0.764, Germany 10-year yield at -0.201
News & Data:
- (CHF) SNB Policy Rate -0.75% vs -0.75% expected
- (USD) Philly Fed Manufacturing Index 30.7 vs 30.3 expected
- (USD) Unemployment Claims 412K vs 360K expected
- (GBP) Retail Sales m/m -1.40% vs 1.50% expected
- BoJ’s Kuroda: Japan’s Economy Is Picking Up As A Trend
- RBNZ dials back QE spend to $200m after big GDP forecasting miss
Markets Update:
Asian stocks ended Friday’s session on a mixed note after crude oil and bullion prices tumbled amid dollar strength. A retreat in U.S. Treasury yields helped limit regional losses, if any.
Mainland Chinese stocks closed mixed, with the Shanghai composite marginally lower while the Shenzhen component advanced 0.8%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose about 0.9%. Japanese shares ended a choppy session lower as the Bank of Japan kept its ultra-lax monetary policy intact, as widely expected, and data showed overall consumer prices in the country slipped an annual 0.1 percent in May. Australian markets ended slightly higher as technology stocks followed their U.S. peers higher on optimism over the strength of the economic recovery.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 92.009 following a recent climb from below 91. Treasury yields steadied earlier in the session as investors were believed to be unwinding bets on a steeper curve. Yields tumbled on Thursday thanks to the U.S. Federal Reserve signaling that monetary-policy tightening could start sooner than previously thought in its policy decision handed down earlier in the week.
Upcoming Events:
- 08:30 AM GMT – (GBP) Consumer Inflation Expectations
- All Day – (EUR) ECOFIN Meetings
