Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 1.24%, Shanghai Composite up 0.15%, Hang Seng up 0.53% ASX down 0.35%
- Commodities : Gold at $2340.5 (0.07%), Silver at $29.78 (0.34%), Brent Oil at $86.73 (0.49%), WTI Oil at $83.21 (0.27%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 4.450, UK 10-year yield at 4.312, Germany 10-year yield at 2.593
News & Data:
- (USD) Final Manufacturing PMI 51.6 vs 51.7 expected
- (GBP) Final Manufacturing PMI 50.9 vs 51.4 expected
Markets Update:
On Tuesday, Asia-Pacific markets mostly declined, diverging from Wall Street, where the Nasdaq Composite hit a new record driven by tech stocks, with the index rising by 0.83% to close at 17,879.3. This surge was led by gains in Microsoft, Apple, and Nvidia. Traders in Asia assessed South Korea’s inflation rate, which came in at 2.4% for June, below the 2.7% expected by economists polled by Reuters.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 increased by 1.24%, and the broad-based Topix rose by 0.78%. The Japanese yen weakened to 161.67 against the dollar, remaining at 38-year lows. According to a Reuters survey, the Bank of Japan is expected to cut bond purchases by about $100 billion in the first year of its forthcoming quantitative tightening plan. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries surged 4.87% to a new all-time high, extending a six-day winning streak.
South Korea’s Kospi dropped by 0.84%, and the small-cap Kosdaq fell by 1.77% following the release of inflation data. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index increased by 0.54%, while Mainland China’s CSI 300 slightly declined. Longfor Group rose by 5.41% after the company repurchased $219.6 million of notes with a 3.85% interest rate.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 decreased by 0.3% as the Reserve Bank of Australia published minutes from its June monetary policy meeting, where board members considered raising interest rates but ultimately decided to keep them steady at 4.35%. Members noted the possibility of achieving the inflation target within a reasonable timeframe without compromising full employment, though they acknowledged the “narrow path” was becoming narrower. Meanwhile, in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 posted gains, rising by 0.13% and 0.27%, respectively.
Upcoming Events:
- 9:00 AM GMT – EUR Core CPI Flash Estimate y/y
- 9:00 AM GMT – EUR CPI Flash Estimate y/y
- 9:00 AM GMT – EUR Unemployment Rate
- 1:30 PM GMT – USD Fed Chair Powell Speaks
