Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 1.60%, Shanghai Composite up 0.40%, Hang Seng up 0.74%, ASX up 0.52%
- Commodities : Gold at $1977.05 (-0.40%), Silver at $23.61 (-1.19%), Brent Oil at $76.58 (-0.49%), WTI Oil at $72.47 (-0.49%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 3.597, UK 10-year yield at 3.912, Germany 10-year yield at 2.394
News & Data:
- (AUD) Unemployment Rate 3.70% vs 3.50% expected
- (AUD) Employment Change -4.3K vs 24.8K expected
- (AUD) Wage Price Index q/q 0.80% vs 0.90% expected
Markets Update:
Asian stocks advanced on Thursday after U.S. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy underscored their determination to reach a deal soon.This helped ease fears of a potential U.S. debt default as a June 1 deadline loomed.
Chinese shares eked out modest gains, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite rising 0.40 percent to 3,297.32 after data showed the country’s fiscal revenue rose 11.9 percent in the first four months of 2023 from the year-ago period, up sharply from a 0.5 percent rise in January-March.
Japanese shares rallied after Sony Group Corp said it is examining a partial spin-off of its financial business. Dovish signals from the Bank of Japan and data showing a bigger-than-expected drop in Japan’s massive trade deficit also boosted sentiment.
Australian markets posted solid gains as weak jobs data spurred hopes that the Reserve Bank will pause future interest rate hikes to curb inflation.
Oil prices held steady on Wednesday as comments from Fed officials lifted the dollar and investors awaited news on the U.S. debt ceiling negotiations.
Gold prices fell on Wednesday, extending losses from the previous session, as the dollar gained against its major counterparts on rate hike bets.
Upcoming Events:
- 01:30 am GMT – (AUD) Employment Change
- 01:30 am GMT – (AUD) Unemployment Rate
- 02:00 am GMT – (NZD) Annual Budget Release
- 07:45 am GMT – (GBP) MPC Member Pill Speaks
- 09:15 am GMT – (GBP) Monetary Policy Report Hearings
- 12:30 pm GMT – (CAD) NHPI m/m
- 12:30 pm GMT – (USD) Unemployment Claims
- 12:30 pm GMT – (USD) Philly Fed Manufacturing Index
- 01:05 pm GMT – (USD) FOMC Member Jefferson Speaks
- 01:30 pm GMT – (USD) FOMC Member Barr Speaks
- 02:00 pm GMT – (USD) Existing Home Sales
- 02:00 pm GMT – (USD) CB Leading Index m/m
- 02:00 pm GMT – (USD) FOMC Member Logan Speaks
- Tentative – (CAD) BOC Financial System Review
- 02:30 pm GMT – (USD) Natural Gas Storage
- 03:00 pm GMT – (CAD) BOC Gov Macklem Speaks
- 10:45 pm GMT – (NZD) Trade Balance
- 11:01 pm GMT – (GBP) GfK Consumer Confidence
- 11:30 pm GMT – (JPY) National Core CPI y/y
- 11:30 pm GMT – (USD) Prelim UoM Inflation Expectations
