Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 0.08%, Shanghai Composite up 1.18%, Hang Seng up 1.69%, ASX down 0.53%
- Commodities : Gold at $1895.75 (+0.27%), Silver at $22.56 (+0.63%), Brent Oil at $85.27 (+0.21%), WTI Oil at $78.59 (+0.15%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 3.607, UK 10-year yield at 3.282, Germany 10-year yield at 2.306
News & Data:
- (JPY) M2 Money Stock y/y 2.70% vs 3.00% expected
- (USD) 10-y Bond Auction 3.61|2.7 vs 3.58|2.5 previous
- (USD) Crude Oil Inventories 2.4M vs 2.0M expected
- (USD) Final Wholesale Inventories m/m 0.10% vs 0.10% expected
- (EUR) Italian Retail Sales m/m -0.20% vs -0.80% expected
- (EUR) French Prelim Private Payrolls q/q 0.00% vs 0.30% expected
- (JPY) Economy Watchers Sentiment 48.5 vs 48.3 expected
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Thursday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, on continuing concerns over the outlook for interest rates and a global economic slowdown. The rising geopolitical tensions between Washington and Beijing in recent days are also weighing on the markets. U.S. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer described the state of bilateral relations as “tense,” adding the Biden administration is looking at other actions it can take after shooting down what it called a Chinese surveillance balloon over the weekend. In addition, it was reported that China has declined a U.S. request for a phone call between defense chiefs.
Chinese markets were all trading higher on Thursday, as Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1.58% and the Hang Seng Tech index climbed 3.18% in its final hour of trade. The Japanese stock market is notably lower on Thursday, extending the losses in the previous two sessions, with the Nikkei 225 falling below the 27,500 level. The Australian stock market is slightly lower on Thursday, giving up some of the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,500 levels.
Crude oil futures settled higher on Wednesday, extending gains to a third straight session amid hopes of higher demand from China. Broader Asian currencies ticked lower as fears of more U.S. interest rate hikes were rekindled by Fed officials this week. The dollar steadied against a basket of currencies, with the dollar index and dollar index futures trading flat on Thursday.
Upcoming Events:
- 09:45 AM GMT – (GBP) Monetary Policy Report Hearings
- 10:00 AM GMT – (EUR) EU Economic Forecasts
- 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Unemployment Claims
