Global Markets:
- Asian stock markets: Nikkei up 0.01 %, Shanghai Composite rose 0.28 %, Hang Seng gained 0.73 %, ASX 200 up 0.10 %
- Commodities: Gold at $1277.67 (+0.07 %), Silver at $16.62 (+0.02 %), WTI Oil at $49.92 (-0.12 %), Brent Oil at $55.81 (+0.02 %)
- Rates: US 10-year yield at 2.32, UK 10-year yield at 1.37, German 10-year yield at 0.45
News & Data:
- (AUD) Retail Sales m/m -0.6 % vs 0.3 % expected
- (AUD) Trade Balance 0.99 B vs 0.88 B expected
- (GBP) Services PMI 53.6 vs 53.2 expected
- (USD) ADP Non-Farm Employment Change 135 K vs 131 K expected
- (USD) Final Services PMI 55.3 vs 55.1 expected
- (USD) ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI 59.8 vs 55.5 expected
- (USD) Crude Oil Inventories -6.0 M vs -0.5 M expected
- Hurricanes hit U.S. hiring in September, services sector resilient- RTRS
Markets Update:
Asia-Pacific markets opened a tad firmer on Thursday, following cues from strong U.S. data. Bonds, equities and the dollar were all steady after U.S. data did little to change views on the timing or pace for monetary tightening. Japanese equities struggled for direction early Thursday despite a weaker yen, even as other markets in the region were broadly higher
USDJPY is seen trading flat at 112.75. Price popped early (around the Tokyo fix) to test its overnight high around 112.90 but has since slipped back and consolidating for the remainder of the session. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average Nikkei 225 was nearly unchanged in morning trade with the market facing more resistance as the benchmark index nears its 2015 peak, which was the highest since 1996.
EURUSD was seen consolidating within a 10 pip range around 1.1755 for most of the Asian session today after the Euro rose 0.1 percent against the US Dollar on Wednesday. The dollar index, which tracks the dollar against a basket of currencies added 0.1 percent and is currently valued at 93.50
AUDUSD lost over 40 pips from session highs of 0.7865 and is currently seen trading around 0.7830 after the AUD saw its worst m/m sales results ( -0.6 % vs 0.3 % expected) in 4+ years in addition to slow wage growth, high debt and rising utility bills being the other negative factors. The Newzealand Dolalr slipped a little earlier in the session reaching lows of around 0.7145 before recovering partially to current levels of around 0.7160.
Upcoming Events:
- All Day – (CNY) Chinese Bank Holiday
- 11:30 GMT – (EUR) ECB Monetary Policy Meeting Accounts
- 12:30 GMT – (CAD) Trade Balance
- 12:30 GMT – (USD) Unemployment Claims
- 12:30 GMT – (USD) Trade Balance
- 13:10 GMT – (USD) FOMC Member Powell Speaks
- 14:00 GMT – (USD) FOMC Member Harker Speaks
- 14:00 GMT – (USD) Factory Orders m/m
- 16:00 GMT – (GBP) MPC Member McCafferty Speaks
- 17:30 GMT – (GBP) MPC Member Haldane Speaks
