Overnight in the Asia Pac area, it was a sea of green as indices took the lead from the US where the bourses traded at record levels once again. The Nikkei 225 closed 0.45% higher, ASX 0.32% and Shanghai Composite 0.05%.
Also, overnight we had the latest Chinese GDP readings which came in line with analyst’s expectations of 6.0% YoY for Q4. Elsewhere, industrial production in China grew 6.9% vs expectations of 5.9%. The White House also confirmed that they are planning to cut taxes during the run up to the elections, this will be another big plus for the US economy.
Markets in the EU have also opened in the right direction with the DAX 0.74% higher and FTSE100 0.50% to the good.
FX remains very tight this morning but EM FX pairs like USD/RUB and USD/ZAR have taken a hit. GBP is also trading well against the likes of CHF and JPY too as the BoE cut story dies down.
In commodities markets, gold is marginally higher (0.19%) after the key $1557.10/oz level continues to act like a magnet for price.
Copper is also feeling the positivity from the aftermath of the Chinese data and trades at $2.85/lb. Bulls would need to take out the $2.872/lb level to keep the bullish trend going.
WTI is also trading higher but is just above flat this morning. Traders will be looking at the Baker Hughes rig count later in the session.
Today we will be on the lookout for UK retail sales, EU CPI, US building permits, US Jolts data, Michigan data and the Baker Hughes rig count.
We are also due to hear from Fed’s Harker and Quarles.
