Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 0.48%, Shanghai Composite down 0.30%, Hang Seng down 1.61%, ASX down 0.74%
- Commodities : Gold at $1470.35 (-0.26%), Silver at $17.06 (-0.33%), Brent Oil at $62.27 (-0.21%), WTI Oil at $56.89 (-0.21%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 1.738, UK 10-year yield at 0.723, Germany 10-year yield at -0.354
News & Data:
- (USD) Crude Oil Inventories 1.4M vs 1.4M expected
- (CAD) Trimmed CPI y/y 2.10% vs 2.10% expected
- (CAD) Median CPI y/y 2.20% vs 2.20% expected
- (CAD) Common CPI y/y 1.90% vs 1.90% expected
- (CAD) CPI m/m 0.30% vs 0.30% expected
- China Wants Russia To Use More Yuan, Fewer US Dollars
- China’s Top Negotiator ‘Cautiously Optimistic’ About Reaching Trade Deal
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are in negative territory on Thursday on renewed uncertainty about a trade deal amid rising tensions between the U.S. and China over Hong Kong.
The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a Senate bill supporting protesters in Hong Kong and President Donald Trump is now expected to sign the legislation passed by both chambers of Congress. Meanwhile, a report from the Wall Street Journal said the trade talks are in danger of hitting an impasse, while Reuters reported that completion of a phase one U.S.-China trade deal could slide into next year.
Mainland Chinese stocks declined also declined by the afternoon, with the Shanghai composite and the Shenzhen component both shedding 0.3%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index led losses among major Asian indexes as it fell 1.6% by the afternoon. Australian stocks declined as the S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.7%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.5% in afternoon trade, with shares of Tokyo Electron falling more than 3%.
The Japanese yen, often seen as a safe-haven currency in times of market uncertainty and turmoil, traded at 108.50 against the dollar after touching an earlier high of 108.27. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against its peers, was at 97.885 after seeing highs around 98.0 yesterday. The yuan hit three-week lows, trading as low as 7.0450 to the dollar in onshore trade.
The minutes from the Federal Reserve’s previous policy meeting published on Wednesday offered little guidance on what would cause policymakers to change their minds on the outlook after an increasingly divided Fed decided to hit the pause button in its easing cycle.
Oil prices also dipped, paring some of their 2% gains made on Wednesday after a better-than-expected U.S. crude inventories report and as Russia said it would continue its cooperation with OPEC to keep the market balanced.
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