Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 0.80%, Shanghai Composite up 0.06%, Hang Seng up 0.71%, ASX up 0.60%
- Commodities : Gold at $1301.10 (-0.02%), Silver at $16.70 (+0.01%), Brent Oil at $75.86 (+0.66%), WTI Oil at $65.11 (+0.59%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 2.972, UK 10-year yield at 1.380, Germany 10-year yield at 0.470
News & Data:
- (AUD) Trade Balance 0.98B vs 0.98B expected
- (USD) Crude Oil Inventories 2.1M vs -2.0M expected
- (CAD) Building Permits m/m -4.60% vs -1.00% expected
- (CAD) Trade Balance -1.9B vs -3.4B expected
- France warns Trump that it will not sign a G7 Statement
- China is working to change global commodities trading — to its own benefit
- White House Deputy Chief of Staff Hagin is said to Leave: WAPO
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are higher on Thursday following the overnight gains on Wall Street after the European Central Bank indicated it will discuss ending its bond purchasing program at a meeting next week. Receding worries about a full-blown global trade war also boosted investor sentiment.
The renewed rally in global stocks has revived warnings in some quarters that investors are ignoring risks ranging from central banks’ shift to quantitative tightening to trade tensions and excess American borrowing.
Notable gainers include the technology-heavy Taiwanese stocks, with Taiwan’s main index nearing the 27-year high of 11,270 hit on January 23. The index has rallied 4.25 percent since last Wednesday, boosted by the rally in tech stocks and the Nasdaq.
The euro held near a two-week high while Germany’s benchmark 10-year bond hit its own two-week high of 0.486 percent growing conviction the European Central Bank would announce as early as next week its intention to end a drawn-out stimulus programme by year-end.
Elsewhere, oil pared losses from a U.S. government report showing a surprise increase in domestic crude stockpiles. Indian bond yields jumped after the Reserve Bank of India raised its key rate for the first time since 2014.
Upcoming Events:
- 08:30 AM GMT – (GBP) Halifax HPI m/m
- 01:30 PM GMT – (USD) Unemployment Claims
- 04:00 PM GMT – (GBP) MPC Member Ramsden Speaks
- 04:15 PM GMT – (CAD) BOC Gov Poloz Speaks
- &more…
