Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 0.64%, Shanghai Composite up 0.54%, Hang Seng up 0.14% ASX up 0.10%
- Commodities : Gold at $2337.5 (0.03%), Silver at $29.48 (0.54%), Brent Oil at $85.73 (0.59%), WTI Oil at $82.31 (0.67%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 4.306, UK 10-year yield at 4.165, Germany 10-year yield at 2.451
News & Data:
- (USD) Final GDP q/q 1.4% vs 1.4% expected
- (USD) Unemployment Claims 233K vs 236K expected
- (USD) Pending Home Sales m/m -2.1% vs 0.6% expected
Markets Update:
Asia-Pacific markets rose on Friday as investors analyzed key economic data from Japan and awaited U.S. inflation reports due later in the day. The Japanese yen hit new 38-year lows against the U.S. dollar, falling to as low as 161.27. Japan appointed Atsushi Mimura to replace Masato Kanda as its top currency diplomat, according to Nikkei. Inflation in Tokyo accelerated to 2.3% in June from a year earlier, up from 2.2% in May. Core inflation, which excludes fresh food prices, rose to 2.1% from 1.9% in May. Tokyo’s inflation data is often seen as an indicator of national trends.
Japan’s industrial production increased by 2.8% month-on-month in May, surpassing economists’ expectations of 2%, according to a Reuters poll. Year-on-year, industrial production rose by 0.3%. These figures may give Japan more leeway to tighten its monetary policy as the yen reaches multi-decade lows. In South Korea, retail sales fell by 0.2% year-on-year in May, a smaller decline compared to April’s revised 0.8% drop. This marks the first time since July 2023 that South Korea has seen two consecutive months of declines.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rebounded 1.04% after the data release, while the broader Topix increased by 0.84%. South Korea’s Kospi edged up by 0.13%, and the small-cap Kosdaq rose by 0.1%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index saw a slight gain, while mainland China’s CSI 300 rebounded from a four-month low to rise by 0.11%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed by 0.13%.
In the U.S. overnight, the S&P 500 posted a modest gain as Wall Street anticipated new inflation data to gauge when the Federal Reserve might start lowering interest rates. The U.S. is expected to release its preferred inflation measure, the personal consumption expenditure index, on Friday. The broad market index closed slightly higher at 0.09%, the Nasdaq Composite added 0.30%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up by 0.09%.
Upcoming Events:
- 12:30 PM GMT – CAD GDP m/m
- 12:30 PM GMT – USD Core PCE Price Index m/m
- 12:30 PM GMT – USD Personal Income m/m
- 12:30 PM GMT – USD Personal Spending m/m
