ICMarket

Thursday 21st December 2023: Asian Markets Slide Amid U.S. Data Awaitment and Global Index Declines


Global Markets:

  •  Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 1.62%, Shanghai Composite up 0.46%, Hang Seng down 0.18% ASX down 0.45%
  • Commodities : Gold at $2045.5 (-0.07%), Silver at $24.53 (-0.34%), Brent Oil at $79.62 (-0.13%), WTI Oil at $74.07 (-0.14%)
  • Rates : US 10-year yield at 3.879, UK 10-year yield at 3.566, Germany 10-year yield at 1.956

News & Data:

  • (USD) CB Consumer Confidence 110.7 vs 104.6 expected
  • (USD) Existing Home Sales 3.82M vs 3.77M expected

Markets Update:

The Asia-Pacific markets saw widespread declines after Wall Street’s slip, with eyes fixed on upcoming U.S. data on GDP and inflation. China’s CSI 300 climbed 0.73%. Economists foresee a 5.2% year-on-year growth for the U.S. economy in Q3, with a modest 2.3% increase expected in the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index—the slowest since late 2020.

In the region, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped by 0.45%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 plummeted 1.62%, and the Topix fell 0.9%, influenced by safety issues at Toyota. South Korea’s Kospi and the Kosdaq also experienced drops of 0.77% and 0.34%, respectively, ending a recent winning streak.

In the U.S., all major indexes faced losses after investors locked in profits following nine days of consecutive gains for the Dow Jones and Nasdaq. The Dow slipped by 1.27%, the Nasdaq by 1.5%, and the broader S&P 500 declined by 1.47%. Notably, the S&P 500 had approached its all-time high of 4,796 from January 2022 prior to this downturn.

Overall, market sentiment in the Asia-Pacific region mirrored Wall Street’s retreat, with attention drawn to the upcoming U.S. economic indicators. Concerns over economic growth and inflation dynamics drove cautious trading in various markets, offsetting recent positive streaks observed in some indices.

Upcoming Events: 

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  • 1:30 PM GMT – USD Final GDP q/q
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  • 3:30 PM GMT – USD Natural Gas Storage