Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 0.64%, Shanghai Composite down 0.18%, Hang Seng up 0.14% ASX up 0.76%
- Commodities : Gold at $2366.35 (0.47%), Silver at $27.81 (-0.45%), Brent Oil at $82.43 (0.07%), WTI Oil at $78.39 (0.08%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 4.257, UK 10-year yield at 4.138, Germany 10-year yield at 2.442
News & Data:
- (USD) Advance GDP q/q 2.8% vs 2.0% expected
- (USD) Unemployment Claims 235K vs 237K expected
Markets Update:
Asia-Pacific markets rebounded on Friday after Thursday’s sell-off hit multi-month lows for several indexes. Traders assessed Tokyo’s July inflation data, a key indicator of national trends. Tokyo’s headline inflation dipped to 2.2% in July from 2.3% in May, with core inflation steady at 2.2%. The “core-core” inflation, excluding fresh food and energy, fell to 1.5% from 1.8%. The yen strengthened sharply against the dollar, now trading at 153.79.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was nearly flat, while the Topix rose 0.25%. Renesas Electronics plunged over 6%, reaching its lowest price since April, following a 29% drop in net profit for the first half of the year. This resulted in a 760 billion yen ($4.9 billion) market cap loss on Thursday. Nissan fell 3.92% after dismal Q1 results, with a 99% drop in operating profit and a 72.9% fall in net profit. Honda, however, rose 0.91% on plans to close a factory in China and increase electric vehicle production.
Taiwan’s market returned post-typhoon, with the Taiwan Weighted Index plunging 3.33%. Heavyweights Hon Hai Precision and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing fell 4.71% and 5.52%, respectively. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.62%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 increased 0.76%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 0.14%, and mainland China’s CSI 300 traded flat.
Singapore’s monetary authority maintained its policy, keeping exchange rate settings unchanged. In the U.S., tech stocks continued to slide, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite losing 0.51% and 0.93% respectively, while the Dow Jones rose 0.2%. Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments noted this is part of a typical “great mini rotation” in a bull market.
Upcoming Events:
- 12:30 PM GMT – USD Core PCE Price Index m/m
- 12:30 PM GMT – USD Personal Income m/m
- 12:30 PM GMT – USD Personal Spending m/m
