Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 0.61%, Shanghai Composite up 0.42%, Hang Seng up 0.16%, ASX down 0.68%
- Commodities : Gold at $1926.75 (-0.09%), Silver at $22.68 (+0.66%), Brent Oil at $83.89 (+0.54%), WTI Oil at $79.72 (+0.46%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 4.306, UK 10-year yield at 4.765, Germany 10-year yield at 2.695
News & Data:
- (USD) Crude Oil Inventories -6.0M vs -2.4M expected
- (CAD) Wholesale Sales m/m -2.8% vs -4.2% expected
- (USD) Building Permits 1.44M vs 1.47M expected
- (USD) Housing Starts 1.45M vs 1.45M expected
Markets Update:
Asia-Pacific markets showed a mixed trend on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve’s July minutes revealed lingering concerns about inflation, potentially leading to further rate hikes. The meeting summary highlighted that given the continued elevation of inflation and a tight labor market, many participants recognized notable upside risks to inflation, which could necessitate additional tightening of monetary policy.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index posted a slight climb of 0.23%, while China’s CSI 300 index inched up by 0.29%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index ended down 0.68% at 7,146, marking its lowest level in over a month due to a slight rise in the country’s unemployment rate to 3.7% in July.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index slid 0.61% to reach 31,626, its lowest point since June, with the Topix index ending 0.34% lower at 2,253.06. South Korea’s Kospi closed with a 0.23% decline at 2,519.85, marking its fifth consecutive day of losses. In contrast, the Kosdaq index bucked the trend with a gain of 0.88% at 886.04.
In the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.52%, the S&P 500 dipped 0.76%, and the Nasdaq Composite saw the most significant loss, falling by 1.15%, all experiencing a second consecutive day of losses.
Upcoming Events:
- 2:00 PM GMT – USD CB Leading Index m/m
- 2:30 PM GMT – USD Natural Gas Storage
- 11:01 PM GMT – GBP GfK Consumer Confidence
- 11:30 PM GMT – JPY National Core CPI y/y
