Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 0.07%, Shanghai Composite down 0.37%, Hang Seng down 1.12% ASX down 0.12%
- Commodities : Gold at $2373.5 (0.27%), Silver at $30.98 (0.74%), Brent Oil at $86.93 (-0.49%), WTI Oil at $83.31 (-0.67%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 4.351, UK 10-year yield at 4.232, Germany 10-year yield at 2.576
News & Data:
- (GBP) Construction PMI 52.2 vs 54.0 expected
- (CHF) CPI m/m 0.0% vs 0.1% expected
Markets Update:
Asia-Pacific markets largely declined on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 experienced a volatile session, falling 0.29% after initially surpassing the 41,000 mark to hit new record highs. The Topix index also dropped 0.59% from record levels.
Japan’s household spending for May unexpectedly decreased by 1.8% in real terms compared to the previous year, contrary to economists’ expectations of a 0.1% increase. This metric is crucial for the Bank of Japan’s goal of creating a “virtuous cycle” of rising wages and prices. The average household spent 290,328 yen ($1,799.28), while the average monthly income rose to 500,231 yen, a 6.4% increase in nominal terms and a 3% increase in real terms from the previous year.
In South Korea, the Kospi index rose 1.38%, and the small-cap Kosdaq increased by 0.91%, making them the only major indexes in Asia to show positive performance. Samsung Electronics projected a nearly 15-fold increase in its second-quarter operating profit due to a rebound in semiconductor prices driven by the artificial intelligence boom, pushing Samsung shares up 2.25% to their highest level since January 2021.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell by 1.09%, mainland China’s CSI300 decreased by 0.96%, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 saw a slight decline of 0.12%.
In the U.S., markets were closed on Thursday for the Independence Day holiday. However, futures trading was mostly flat ahead of Friday’s session, with Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.1%, S&P 500 futures slightly below the flatline, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures up 0.05%.
Upcoming Events:
- 12:30 PM GMT – CAD Employment Change
- 12:30 PM GMT – CAD Unemployment Rate
- 12:30 PM GMT – USD Average Hourly Earnings m/m
- 12:30 PM GMT – USD Non-Farm Employment Change
- 12:30 PM GMT – USD Unemployment Rate
