Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 1.08%, Shanghai Composite up 0.39%, Hang Seng up 1.45%, ASX up 1.00%
- Commodities : Gold at $1276.60 (-0.16%), Silver at $16.34 (-0.61%), Brent Oil at $75.44 (+0.48%), WTI Oil at $65.35 (-0.52%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 2.900, UK 10-year yield at 1.279, Germany 10-year yield at 0.375
News & Data:
- (NZD) Current Account 0.18B vs 0.05B expected
- (NZD) GDT Price Index -1.20% vs -1.30% previous
- (USD) Housing Starts 1.35M vs 1.31M expected
- (USD) Building Permits 1.30M vs 1.35M expected
- Xi Jinping urges DPRK, U.S. to carry out Singapore summit results
- Chinese yuan softens to near-year low after PBOC sets midpoint down 351 basis points
- BOJ minutes: One member says more easing needed but central bank seen on hold
Markets Update:
Asian stocks attempted to rebound on Wednesday, with several regional markets paring sharp losses made in the previous session that were caused by elevated fears of a trade war between the U.S. and China. South Korean markets were leading the gains.
In China, the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.6 percent in choppy trade, a day after falling 3.8 percent to a two-year low. Wednesday’s fall came despite 30 listed firms announcing share purchase plans by major shareholders, and state media expressing confidence in the country’s stock markets.
Japan's Nikkei 225 rose about half a percent in a choppy session, trading both above and below the flat line. Consumer stocks rose, but materials, banks and insurers traded lower. Pharmaceutical stocks led gains in the afternoon, while the Topix mining subindex was the worst-performing sector. The Australian market is advancing despite lower commodity prices and the weak cues from Wall Street. Banks and oil stocks are among the leading gainers.
Crude oil prices also recovered in Asian trades after falling overnight, while the U.S. dollar stabilized. Iran said on Tuesday that OPEC was unlikely to reach a deal on oil output this week. Weakening appetite for risk pushed the yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes lower to 2.8894 percent, after earlier rising to 2.9 percent.
Investors in cryptocurrencies were also hit by losses after South Korean virtual currency exchange Bithumb said it had been hacked and 35 billion won worth of virtual currency held at the exchange was stolen.
Upcoming Events:
- 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Current Account
- 02:30 PM GMT – (AUD) RBA Gov Lowe Speaks
- 02:30 PM GMT – (EUR) ECB President Draghi Speaks
- 02:30 PM GMT – (JPY) BOJ Gov Kuroda Speaks
- 02:30 PM GMT – (USD) Fed Chair Powell Speaks
- 03:00 PM GMT – (USD) Existing Home Sales
- 03:30 PM GMT – (USD) Crude Oil Inventories
- 11:45 PM GMT – (NZD) GDP q/q
- &more…
