Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 0.23%, Shanghai Composite down 0.04%, Hang Seng down 0.47%, ASX down 0.74%
- Commodities : Gold at $1692.20 (-0.50%), Silver at $25.33 (-0.51%), Brent Oil at $67.97 (+1.84%), WTI Oil at $64.88 (+1.64%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 1.556, UK 10-year yield at 0.765, Germany 10-year yield at -0.291
News & Data:
- (AUD) AIG Services Index 55.8 vs 54.3 previous
- (USD) Natural Gas Storage -98B vs -149B expected
- (USD) Factory Orders m/m 2.60% vs 2.20% expected
- (USD) Unemployment Claims 745K vs 758K expected
- (USD) Revised Unit Labor Costs q/q 6.00% vs 6.70% expected
- (USD) Revised Nonfarm Productivity q/q -4.20% vs -4.70% expected
- (CAD) Labor Productivity q/q -2.00% vs -2.00% expected
- (USD) Challenger Job Cuts y/y -39.10% vs 17.40% previous
- Indian OilMin: OPEC To Continue Production Cuts Will Undermine Recovery, Will Hurt Consumers
- US to build anti-China missile network along first island chain
Markets Update:
Asian stocks fell on Friday as treasury yields spiked in reaction to the latest comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that he expects some inflationary pressures in the time ahead.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 slipped 0.2%while the Topix index finished its trading day 0.6% higher. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.6%. Meanwhile, stocks in Australia also declined on the day, with the S&P/ASX 200 down 0.7%. Mainland Chinese stocks closed mixed.
The Shanghai composite and the Shenzhen component traded flat. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang announced the world’s second-largest economy would target growth of over 6% for 2021. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed 0.5% lower.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 91.851 following a rise from levels below 91 seen earlier this week. Bond investors sold U.S. debt. The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed above 1.5% though it was still below a one-year high of 1.614% struck last week.
The yield curve, a measure of economic expectations, steepened on rising yields, with the gap between two- and 10-year yields widening by another 6.3 basis points overnight.
Upcoming Events:
- 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Average Hourly Earnings m/m
- 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Non-Farm Employment Change
- 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Unemployment Rate
- 03:00 PM GMT – (CAD) Ivey PMI
