Tuesday 21st May: Chinese markets recover as US eases restrictions on Huawei

Global Markets:

• Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 0.20%, Shanghai Composite up 1.46%, Hang Seng up 0.08%, ASX up 0.17%
• Commodities : Gold at $1275.05 (-0.18%), Silver at $14.41 (-0.26%), Brent Oil at $72.20 (+0.32%), WTI Oil at $63.48 (+0.43%)
• Rates : US 10-year yield at 2.419, UK 10-year yield at 1.064, Germany 10-year yield at -0.081

News & Data:

• (NZD) Credit Card Spending y/y 4.50% vs 4.50% previous
• (GBP) CB Leading Index m/m -0.50% vs -0.40% previous
• (EUR) Current Account 24.7B vs 24.2B expected
• (EUR) German PPI m/m 0.50% vs 0.40% expected
• (JPY) Revised Industrial Production m/m -0.60% vs -0.90% expected
• (JPY) Prelim GDP q/q 0.50% vs -0.10% expected
• (JPY) Prelim GDP Price Index y/y 0.20% vs 0.20% expected
• (GBP) Rightmove HPI m/m 0.90% vs 1.10% previous

Markets Update:

Asian markets were mixed in morning trade on Tuesday. Chinese stocks rebounded as the U.S. government’s decision to temporarily ease some trade restrictions imposed on Huawei eased trade tension between the U.S. and China.

The Australian market gave up early gains amid fears of an intensifying U.S-China trade war after the U.S. crackdown on Chinese telecom giant Huawei. Tech stocks are among the leading decliners. Investors are also cautious as they look ahead to the release of minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s May 7 monetary policy meeting later in the day.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan were marginally lower by 0.2% in afternoon trade following an earlier slip, as shares of index heavyweight and robot maker Fanuc recovered to see gains. Mainland Chinese shares rose by the afternoon, with the Shanghai composite gaining 1.5% and the Shenzhen component adding 2.1%. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong rose 0.1%.

In the foreign exchange market, major currencies were on the sidelines for now. The euro was under pressure ahead of the European election this weekend but was little moved at $1.1165, off Monday’s low of $1.1150, its lowest level since May 3. The dollar was little changed at 110.21 yen Monday’s near two-week high of 110.32 yen. The British pound was listless near four-month lows, trading at $1.2730,

Oil prices held near multi-week highs as OPEC indicated it was likely to maintain production cuts while escalating Middle East tensions provided further support.

Upcoming Events:

• 09:30 AM GMT – (GBP) Inflation Report Hearings
• 03:45 PM GMT – (USD) FOMC Member Evans Speaks
• 05:00 PM GMT – (USD) FOMC Member Rosengren Speaks
• 11:45 PM GMT – (NZD) Retail Sales q/q
• 11:45 PM GMT – (NZD) Core Retail Sales q/q
• &more…