Tuesday 7th April: Asian markets gain on hopes of virus slowing down.
Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 2.01%, Shanghai Composite up 2.05%, Hang Seng up 1.90%, ASX down 0.65%
- Commodities : Gold at $1704.00 (+0.60%), Silver at $15.68 (+3.37%), Brent Oil at $33.92 (+2.63%), WTI Oil at $27.06 (+3.76%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 0.736, UK 10-year yield at 0.359, Germany 10-year yield at -0.381
News & Data:
- (AUD) Cash Rate 0.25% vs 0.25% expected
- (AUD) Trade Balance 4.36B vs 3.75B expected
- (NZD) NZIER Business Confidence -70 vs -21 previous
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are mostly higher on Tuesday, extending gains from the previous session amid indications that coronavirus pandemic may be levelling off in New York and receding in European coronavirus hotspots such as Italy and Spain.
The Australian market has pared early gains and is now mixed. Investors now look ahead to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision on interest rates after its monetary policy meeting later today.
Mainland Chinese stocks, which returned to trade following a Monday holiday, led gains among the region’s major markets. The Shenzhen composite surged 2.1%. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 and Topix both gained 2.01%. Over in South Korea, the Kospi rose 1.8%.
Oil prices jumped after their Monday drop. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 100.205 following an earlier high of 100.79.
Upcoming Events:
- 08:00 AM GMT – (EUR) Italian Retail Sales m/m
- All Day – (EUR) Eurogroup Meetings
- 02:00 PM GMT – (CAD) Ivey PMI
- 02:00 PM GMT – (USD) JOLTS Job Openings
- Tentative – (USD) IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism
- Tentative – (NZD) GDT Price Index
- 05:01 PM GMT – (USD) 10-y Bond Auction
- 07:00 PM GMT – (USD) Consumer Credit m/m
- 11:50 PM GMT – (JPY) Core Machinery Orders m/m
- 11:50 PM GMT – (JPY) Current Account