Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 0.07%, Shanghai Composite down 0.14%, Hang Seng down 0.57% ASX up 0.02%
- Commodities : Gold at $2659.35 (-0.14%), Silver at $31.4 (-0.48%), Brent Oil at $71.4 (0.46%), WTI Oil at $67.27 (0.49%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 4.143, UK 10-year yield at 4.275, Germany 10-year yield at 2.1125
News & Data:
- (USD) Non – Farm Employment Change 227K vs 218K expected
- (USD) Unemployment Rate 4.2% vs 4.1% expected
- (CAD) Employment Change 50.5K vs 24.7K expected
- (CAD) Unemployment Rate 6.8% vs 6.6% expected
Markets Update:
South Korea’s Kospi index fell over 2% on Monday as political turmoil continued to weigh on investor sentiment following President Yoon Suk Yeol’s survival of an impeachment vote over the weekend. The benchmark Kospi dropped 2.5%, while the Kosdaq slid 4.4%, reflecting heightened concerns over the fallout from Yoon’s brief declaration of martial law. Adding to the tension, prosecutors have reportedly named Yoon as a subject of a criminal investigation for potential charges of treason and abuse of power.
The impeachment vote, led by opposition parties, was boycotted by Yoon’s People Power Party. However, the party’s leader has suggested that Yoon may consider stepping down, signaling further uncertainty in the political landscape. This development has fueled apprehension in the markets, with investors closely watching how the crisis unfolds.
Elsewhere in Asia-Pacific markets, performance was mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 inched up 0.1%, while the Topix added 0.2%, supported by a positive revision to Japan’s third-quarter GDP growth, now estimated at 0.3% quarter-on-quarter. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 0.6%, and mainland China’s CSI 300 declined 0.5%. China’s consumer price growth in November missed expectations, rising only 0.2% year-on-year compared to 0.3% in October, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
In the U.S., markets ended last week on a high note. The S&P 500 gained 0.25% to 6,090.27, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.81% to 19,859.77, bolstered by gains in Tesla, Meta Platforms, and Amazon. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.28%, closing at 44,642.52. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq achieved their third consecutive week of gains, rising 0.96% and 3.34%, respectively, despite the Dow slipping 0.6% over the same period.
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