Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 0.19%, Shanghai Composite up 0.10%, Hang Seng down 0.88%, ASX down 0.20%
- Commodities : Gold at $1847.15 (-0.17%), Silver at $21.72 (-0.46%), Brent Oil at $83.06 (-1.20%), WTI Oil at $76.57 (-1.09%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 3.857, UK 10-year yield at 3.516, Germany 10-year yield at 2.458
News & Data:
- (AUD) Flash Services PMI 49.2 vs 48.6 previous
- (AUD) Flash Manufacturing PMI 50.1 vs 50 previous
- (NZD) PPI Output q/q 0.90% vs 0.40% expected
- (NZD) PPI Input q/q 0.50% vs 0.50% expected
- (EUR) Consumer Confidence -19 vs -19 expected
- (CNY) Foreign Direct Investment ytd/y 14.50% vs 6.30% previous
Markets Update:
Asian stocks drifted lower on Tuesday, as investors reacted to weak purchasing manager index reports from Japan and Australia and kept a wary eye on the latest geopolitical developments. U.S. President Joe Biden made an unannounced visit to Kyiv ahead of the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine amid mounting concerns over China’s stand on Russia and Ukraine. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned China of consequences should it provide material support to Russia and North Korea fired more missiles.
Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.4 percent as data showed business activity in the country shrank again in February. Mining giant BHP fell over 2 percent after reporting a sharp decline in its half-year profit. Chinese shares were seeing modest gains, with the Shanghai Composite index rising 0.4 percent on optimism around post-COVID economic recovery. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 0.3 percent. Japan’s Nikkei index slipped 0.2 percent as a business survey showed manufacturing activity in the country contracted at the fastest pace in 30 months in February.
The dollar nudged lower against a basket of major currencies, but was noticeably down against so-called commodity currencies, including the Australian dollar, which rose 0.5% and the Canadian dollar, which gained 0.1%.
Upcoming Events:
- 08:15 AM GMT – (EUR) French Flash Manufacturing PMI
- 08:15 AM GMT – (EUR) French Flash Services PMI
- 08:30 AM GMT – (EUR) German Flash Manufacturing PMI
- 08:30 AM GMT – (EUR) German Flash Services PMI
- 09:30 AM GMT – (GBP) Flash Manufacturing PMI
- 09:30 AM GMT – (GBP) Flash Services PMI
- 10:00 AM GMT – (EUR) German ZEW Economic Sentiment
- 01:30 PM GMT – (CAD) CPI m/m
- 01:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Median CPI y/y
- 01:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Trimmed CPI y/y
- 01:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Common CPI y/y
- 01:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Core Retail Sales m/m
- 01:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Retail Sales m/m
- 02:45 PM GMT – (USD) Flash Services PMI
- 02:45 PM GMT – (USD) Flash Manufacturing PMI
- 03:00 PM GMT – (USD) Existing Home Sales
