Thursday 17th January: Asian markets lower as investors look to China

Global Markets:

• Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 0.22%, Shanghai Composite down 0.44%, Hang Seng down 0.66%, ASX up 0.26%
• Commodities : Gold at $1292.25 (-0.12%), Silver at $15.59 (-0.32%), Brent Oil at $61.03 (-0.47%), WTI Oil at $51.98 (-0.63%)
• Rates : US 10-year yield at 2.713, UK 10-year yield at 1.312, Germany 10-year yield at 0.223

News & Data:

• (GBP) RPI y/y 2.70% vs 2.90% expected
• (GBP) PPI Input m/m -1.00% vs -1.50% expected
• (GBP) CPI y/y 2.10% vs 2.10% expected
• (AUD) Westpac Consumer Sentiment -4.70% vs 0.10% previous
• Brexit: German MEP Weber Says We Are Not Talkin g About Concessions
• BOJ Kuroda: Must Eye Impact of Unconventional Policy
• NZ dollar extends decline amid mixed data

Markets Update:

Asia Pacific shares gave up early gains on Thursday despite strong quarterly earnings in the U.S. and after the U.K. government won a parliamentary confidence vote. Worries over China likely weighed on market sentiment. The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. federal prosecutors are investigating Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies for allegedly stealing trade secrets from U.S. companies. Huawei could face an indictment soon, according to the report.

The Australian market is extending gains from the previous session following the positive cues from Wall Street. Banks and oil stocks are among the leading gainers. Japan’s Nikkei 225 erased gains of near 0.3 percent to trade lower by 0.2 percent while the Topix index rose 0.35 percent. Hang Seng Index fell about 0.7 percent. On the Chinese mainland, the Shanghai composite index fell 0.4 percent while the Shenzhen composite indices were down about 0.9 percent each. In South Korea, the Kospi also gave up early advances to trade flat.

The U.S. dollar was otherwise mixed, easing a touch on the yen to 108.98, but firming on the euro to $1.1386. The dollar index was up a fraction at 96.162. Oil prices eased as traders worried about the strength of demand in the United States after gasoline stockpiles there grew last week by far more than analysts had expected.

In commodity markets, palladium hit record highs thanks to increasing demand and lower supply of the metal used in auto catalysts. Spot gold was little changed.

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