Monday 25th May: Asian markets mostly higher

Global Markets:

• Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 1.73%, Shanghai Composite up 0.15%, Hang Seng down 0.17%, ASX up 2.16%
• Commodities : Gold at $1728.60 (-0.40%), Silver at $17.47 (-1.26%), Brent Oil at $35.14 (+0.03%), WTI Oil at $33.45 (+0.60%)
• Rates : US 10-year yield at 0.657, UK 10-year yield at 0.173, Germany 10-year yield at -0.502

News & Data:

• (CAD) Core Retail Sales m/m -0.40% vs -4.80% expected
• (GBP) Retail Sales m/m -18.10% vs -15.80% expected
• S.-China Ties Have Become ‘Extremely Hostile,’ Former Official Says
• China Sets Yuan Fix At Weakest Since 2008
• Japan Econ Min Nishimura: Panel approves declaration to lift emergency

CFTC Positioning Data:

• EUR long 72K vs 78K long last week. Longs trimmed by 6K
• GBP short 19K vs 14K short last week. Shorts increased by 5K
• JPY long 28K vs 28K long last week. Longs unchanged
• CHF long 9K vs 7K long last week. Longs increased by 2K
• AUD short 39k vs 35K short last week. Shorts increased by 4K
• NZD short 16K vs 16K short last week. Shorts unchanged
• CAD short 35k vs 32K short last week. Shorts increased by 3K.

Markets Update:

Asian stock markets are mostly higher on Monday despite the lackluster cues from Wall Street Friday amid concerns over rising U.S.-China tensions. Optimism about a recovery in growth following the reopening of economies and hopes about more stimulus measures by global central banks helped lift stocks.

Mainland Chinese shares traded mixed: The Shanghai composite rose 0.2%, the Shenzhen composite was fractionally lower. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index retraced earlier losses of more than 1% to trade down 0.12%, extending Friday’s losses of more than 5%.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index added 1.7%, while the Topix index was up 1.7%. The Australian market is notably higher, with stocks rising across the board. The benchmark ASX 200 added 2.2%. Markets in Singapore, India and Indonesia were shut due to public holidays.

The U.S. dollar traded at 99.906 against a basket of its peers, a touch higher than its previous close at 99.863. Action in currencies was subdued as the euro held near a one-week trough, while the Australian dollar was slightly lower.

Upcoming Events:

Monday, May 25, 2020

• 05:30 PM GMT – (CAD) BOC Gov Poloz Speaks

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

• 01:00 PM GMT – (EUR) ECB Financial Stability Review
• 02:00 PM GMT – (USD) CB Consumer Confidence
• 09:00 PM GMT – (CAD) BOC Gov Poloz Speaks
• 09:00 PM GMT – (NZD) RBNZ Financial Stability Report

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

• 07:30 AM GMT – (EUR) ECB President Lagarde Speaks

Thursday, May 28, 2020

• 01:00 AM GMT – (NZD) ANZ Business Confidence
• 01:30 AM GMT – (AUD) Private Capital Expenditure q/q
• 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) Prelim GDP q/q
• 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) Core Durable Goods Orders m/m
• 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) Durable Goods Orders m/m
• 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) Unemployment Claims
• 02:00 PM GMT – (USD) Pending Home Sales m/m

Friday, May 29, 2020

• 09:00 AM GMT – (EUR) CPI Flash Estimate y/y
• 12:30 PM GMT – (CAD) GDP m/m
• 12:30 PM GMT – (CAD) RMPI m/m
• 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) Core PCE Price Index m/m
• 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) Personal Spending m/m
• 01:45 PM GMT – (USD) Chicago PMI
• 02:00 PM GMT – (USD) Revised UoM Consumer Sentiment
• 03:00 PM GMT – (USD) Fed Chair Powell Speaks

Sunday, May 31, 2020

• 01:00 AM GMT – (CNY) Manufacturing PMI
• 01:00 AM GMT – (CNY) Non-Manufacturing PMI