Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 1.72%, Shanghai Composite down 0.09%, Hang Seng up 1.04% ASX down 0.07%
- Commodities : Gold at $2045.45 (-0.09%), Silver at $24.21 (-0.04%), Brent Oil at $74.29 (0.52%), WTI Oil at $69.3 (0.43%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 4.174, UK 10-year yield at 3.991, Germany 10-year yield at 2.230
News & Data:
- (USD) ADP Non-Farm Employment Change 103K vs 131K expected
- (USD) Trade Balance -64.3B vs -64.1B expected
Markets Update:
Markets across Asia-Pacific mirrored Wall Street’s decline, reacting to trade data from China and Australia. China’s unexpected November trade report showed a 0.5% surge in exports and a 0.6% dip in imports, surpassing economist forecasts. China’s trade surplus widened to $68.39 billion, exceeding expectations of $58 billion.
Oil prices hit a six-month low, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) settling at $69.38 per barrel, down 4.07%, and Brent crude for February closing at $74.30, a 3.76% decrease.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 narrowed losses, ending 0.07% lower at 7,173.3, despite a widened trade surplus of 7.13 billion Australian dollars in October, missing Reuters’ estimated AU$7.5 billion.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.72%, reversing gains from the previous day, while the Topix slid 1.12%. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.13%, and the Kosdaq, its small-cap index, declined by 0.74%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index experienced a 1.16% drop, but the mainland Chinese CSI 300 reversed losses, ending up by 0.14%.
In the U.S., all major indexes retreated amid concerns about declining inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.19%, the S&P 500 shed 0.39%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.58%. This marked the third consecutive day of losses for the Dow and the S&P 500, the first such streak since October.
Upcoming Events:
- 1:30 PM GMT – CAD Building Permits m/m
- 1:30 PM GMT – USD Unemployment Claims
- 3:00 PM GMT – USD Final Wholesale Inventories m/m
- 3:30 PM GMT – USD Natural Gas Storage
