ASIA:
The People’s Bank of China added 90 billion yuan ($14 billion) of funds on a net basis through seven-day and 14-day reverse repurchase agreements on Friday, the most since February. Today was the first time this month it added more than 10-billion-yuan short-term liquidity into the banking system on a single day. The move comes as the trouble facing China Evergrande Group fuels investor concern over the health of real estate and credit markets. Adding to the stress is a seasonal spike in demand for cash as banks are hesitant to lend toward the end of the quarter ahead of regulatory checks. Liquidity also tends to diminish at this time of year ahead of a one-week holiday at the start of October.
The softening of prices of various food items is likely to extend into the third quarter and contain the upside price pressures on headline inflation stemming from fuel and core prices, India’s central bank said in its bulletin on Thursday. The central bank’s monetary policy committee has kept interest rates at record lows since middle of 2020 and vowed to keep the policy accommodative until economic recovery was achieved on a durable basis. India’s retail inflation eased to a four-month low of 5.30% in August on softer food prices as supply-side constraints eased following the lifting of pandemic-related restrictions. India’s central bank also said the fall in August inflation had vindicated the monetary policy committee’s call for treating the May price shock as transitory.
The major Asian stock markets had a mixed day today:
- NIKKEI 225 increased 176.71 points or 0.58% to 30,500.05
- Shanghai increased 6.87 points or 0.19% to 3,613.97
- Hang Seng increased 252.91 or 1.03% to 24,920.76
- ASX 200 decreased 56.50 points or -0.76% to 7,403.70
- Kospi increased 10.42 points or 0.33% to 3,140.51
- SENSEX decreased 125.27 points or -0.21% to 59,015.89
- Nifty50 decreased 44.35 points or -0.25% to 17,585.15
The major Asian currency markets had a mixed day today:
- AUDUSD decreased 0.00120 or -0.16% to 0.72791
- NZDUSD decreased 0.00270 or -0.38% to 0.70440
- USDJPY increased 0.25200 or 0.23% to 109.96
- USDCNY increased 0.01490 or 0.23% to 6.46870
Precious Metals:
- Gold decreased 0.2033 USD/t oz. or -0.01% to 1,753.19
- Silver decreased 0.4275 USD/t. oz or -1.86% to 22.503
Some economic news from last night:
New Zealand:
Business NZ PMI (Aug) decreased from 62.6 to 40.1
Singapore:
Non-Oil Exports (YoY) (Aug) decreased from 12.70% to 2.70%
Non-Oil Exports (MoM) (Aug) decreased from -0.90% to -3.60%
Trade Balance increased from 3.970B to 6.253B
Indonesia:
Motorbike Sales (YoY) (Jul) increased from 28.90% to 48.20%
Some economic news from today:
India:
FX Reserves, USD decreased from 642.45B to 641.11B
EUROPE/EMEA:
British finance minister Rishi Sunak said on Tuesday that private equity firms’ interest in British listed companies reflected well on the economy, but added that he wanted to make it easier for new businesses to list on the stock market. British supermarket Morrisons is currently at the center of a battle between two US private equity firms, while US chipmaker Nvidia is seeking regulatory approval in Britain and elsewhere for its purchase British chip designer ARM, which was bought by Japan’s SoftBank in 2016.
The United Arab Emirates plans to launch 50 new economic initiatives to boost the country’s competitiveness and attract 550 billion dirhams ($150 billion) in foreign direct investment in the next nine years, government officials said in a press release. The projects, a few of which were unveiled last week, including investing in technology and creating new visas to attract residents and skilled workers.
The major Europe stock markets had a negative day:
- CAC 40 decreased 52.40 points or -0.79% to 6,570.19
- FTSE 100 decreased 63.84 points or -0.91% to 6,963.64
- DAX 30 decreased 161.58 points or -1.03% to 15,490.17
The major Europe currency markets had a mixed day today:
- EURUSD decreased 0.00310 or -0.26% to 1.17334
- GBPUSD decreased 0.00380 or -0.28% to 1.37594
- USDCHF increased 0.00370 or 0.39% to 0.93110
Some economic news from Europe today:
UK:
Inflation Expectations increased from 2.4% to 2.7%
Core Retail Sales (YoY) (Aug) decreased from 0.9% to -0.9%
Core Retail Sales (MoM) (Aug) increased from -3.2% to -1.2%
Retail Sales (MoM) (Aug) increased from -2.8% to -0.9%
Retail Sales (YoY) (Aug) decreased from 1.9% to 0.0%
Euro Zone:
Current Account (Jul) decreased from 21.8B to 21.6B
Current Account n.s.a. (Jul) increased from 24.0B to 30.2B
Construction Output (MoM) (Jul) increased from -0.64% to 0.09%
Core CPI (MoM) (Aug) increased from -0.4% to 0.3%
Core CPI (YoY) (Aug) remain the same at 1.6%
CPI (YoY) (Aug) increased from 2.2% to 3.0%
CPI (MoM) (Aug) increased from -0.1% to 0.4%
CPI ex Tobacco (MoM) (Aug) increased from -0.1% to 0.4%
CPI ex Tobacco (YoY) (Aug) increased from 2.2% to 3.0%
CPI, n.s.a increased from 107.60 to 107.98
HICP ex Energy & Food (YoY) (Aug) increased from 0.9% to 1.6%
HICP ex Energy and Food (MoM) (Aug) increased from -0.3% to 0.2%
US/AMERICAS:
US consumer sentiment rose 0.7 points in September to 71.0, according to the University of Michigan. Analysts had expected a reading of 72 despite rising inflation. The current conditions index declined 1.4 points to 77.1, while the expectations index rose 2 points to 67.1.
Wholesale sales declined 2.1% in Canada this past July, totaling C$70.1 billion, according to data provided by Statistics Canada. A drastic decrease in the price of lumber caused building materials and supplies to fall 12.4%. Excluding building materials and supplies, the wholesale figure would have risen 0.1% in July. Personal and household goods declined 1.6%, with beverage and tobacco sales shedding 0.8%. Overall sales in Canada declined 2.4% for the month.
Brazil’s Economy Ministry raised its inflation forecasts for 2021 and 2022. The Ministry now believes CPI will advance 7.9% in 2021 compared to the original forecast of 5.9%. Levels are expected to drop to 3.75% in 2022, slightly above the original projection of 3.5%. Ongoing drought and high energy prices may impact inflation, but the Ministry believes GDP will expand at its initial projection of 5.3% in 2021, followed by 2.5% the following year.
US Market Closings:
- Dow declined 166.44 points or -0.48% to 34,584.88
- S&P 500 declined 40.76 points or -0.91% to 4,432.99
- Nasdaq declined 137.96 points or -0.91% to 15,043.97
- Russell 2000 advanced 3.96 points or 0.18% to 2,236.87
Canada Market Closings:
- TSX Composite declined 111.74 points or -0.54% to 20,490.36
- TSX 60 declined 7.32 points or -0.59% to 1,224.44
Brazil Market Closing:
- Bovespa declined 2,217.81 points or -1.95% to 111,576.47
ENERGY:
The oil markets had a negative day today:
- Crude Oil decreased 0.7500 USD/BBL or -1.03% to 71.8600
- Brent decreased 0.5300 USD/BBL or -0.70% to 75.1400
- Natural gas decreased 0.128 USD/MMBtu or -2.40% to 5.2060
- Gasoline decreased 0.0135 USD/GAL or -0.62% to 2.1677
- Heating oil decreased 0.0034 USD/GAL or -0.15% to 2.2076
The above data was collected around 12:32 EST on Friday
- Top commodity gainers: Lumber (7.07%) and Lithium (2.04%), Steel (2.16%) and Rhodium (9.78%)
- Top commodity losers: Bitumen (-3.26%), Natural Gas (-2.40%), Methanol (-2.47%), and Palm Oil (-4.17%)
The above data was collected around 12:35 EST on Friday.
BONDS:
Japan 0.05%(+0.9bp), US 2’s 0.23%(+0.006%), US 10’s 1.3736%(+3.75bps); US 30’s 1.91%(+0.031%),Bunds -0.2770% (+2.8bp), France 0.0480% (+2.2bp), Italy 0.7280% (+3.26bp), Turkey 16.43% (-2bp), Greece 0.8170% (+2.20bp), Portugal 0.264% (+1.70bp); Spain 0.369% (+2.46bp) and UK Gilts 0.846% (+2.7bp).
