ASIA:
Singapore’s economy expanded at its fastest annual pace in over a decade in 2021 as the country emerged from its worst recession on record, caused by the deep hit to activity from the coronavirus pandemic. The Singapore economy grew 7.2% in 2021, preliminary data showed on Monday, broadly in line with the government’s official projection and rebounding from the record 5.4% contraction in 2020. The financial and transport hub, often seen as a bellwether of global growth, has staged a rocky recovery as governments around the world shift their coronavirus strategies to living with the pandemic, away from “zero-COVID” policies. Singapore’s annual gross domestic product growth was the fastest since a 14.5% expansion in 2010, when the economy emerged from the global financial crisis.
India’s central bank Financial Stability Report projects banks’ GNPAs rising to 8.1% of total assets by September 2022 from 6.9% in September 2021 under a baseline scenario and to 9.5% under a severe stress scenario. These projections are however more optimistic than those made in July where GNPAs under a baseline scenario were expected to be close to 10% in March 2022. The Financial Stability Report is published bi-annually by the RBI on behalf of the Financial Stability and Development Council, an umbrella group of regulators which gives an overview of the health of India’s financial system.
The major Asian stock markets had a mixed day today:
- NIKKEI 225 closed
- Shanghai closed
- Hang Seng decreased 122.92 points or -0.53% to 23,274.75
- ASX 200 closed
- Kospi increased 11.12 points or 0.37% to 2,988.77
- SENSEX increased 929.40 points or 1.60% to 59,183.22
- Nifty50 increased 271.65 points or 1.57% to 17,625.70
The major Asian currency markets had a mixed day today:
- AUDUSD decreased 0.0072 or -0.99% to 0.71956
- NZDUSD decreased 0.00149 or -0.22% to 0.67869
- USDJPY increased 0.15 or 0.13% to 115.26
- USDCNY increased 0.00923 or 0.15% to 6.37296
Precious Metals:
- Gold decreased 28.16 USD/t oz. or -1.54% to 1,800.23
- Silver decreased 0.443 USD/t. oz or -1.90% to 22.825
Some economic news from last night:
Singapore:
URA Property Index (QoQ) increased from 1.00% to 5.00%
GDP (YoY) (Q4) decreased from 7.1% to 5.9%
GDP (QoQ) (Q4) increased from 5.2% to 10.7%
South Korea:
Nikkei Manufacturing PMI (Dec) increased from 50.9 to 51.9
Indonesia:
Nikkei Manufacturing PMI (Dec) decreased from 53.9 to 53.5
Core Inflation (YoY) (Dec) increased from 1.44% to 1.56%
Inflation (YoY) (Dec) increased from 1.75% to 1.87%
Inflation (MoM) (Dec) increased from 0.37% to 0.57%
Some economic news from today:
India:
Nikkei Markit Manufacturing PMI (Dec) decreased from 57.6 to 55.5
Exports (USD) (Dec) remain the same at 37.29B
Imports (USD) increased from 52.94B to 59.27B
Trade Balance decreased from 22.91B to 21.99B
EUROPE/EMEA:
The deputy governor of Bank of England, Sir Jon Cunliffe, said to BBC Bitcoin, the world’s oldest and largest cryptocurrency could become “worthless” and people investing in this crypto asset should be prepared for this huge monetary shock, Guardian reported. John Paulson, president and portfolio manager of U.S. investment firm Paulson & Co said to Bloomberg in an interview “Cryptocurrencies, regardless of where they’re trading today, will eventually prove to be worthless. Once the exuberance wears off, or liquidity dries up, they will go to zero. I wouldn’t recommend anyone invest in cryptocurrencies.” The 2021 crypto market cap is 2.24 trillion dollars or about 1 per cent of the global financial asset. Bubble or not but there is a lot of money at stake with no visible signs of it coming down in the near future. The IMF’s Chief Economist, Gita Gopinath, has recently warned about the evolving crypto scenario and said that emerging economies should bring about an effective crypto regulation to maintain a stable economic structure.
Bank of England’s financial policy committee said that currently the U. K’s economy is not directly threatened by the growing crypto assets but if the current growth rate continues it could pose a serious problem. The problem will be more escalated if cryptos are directly linked with the traditional financial system of the U.K.
The major Europe stock markets had a mixed day:
- CAC 40 increased 64.19 points or 0.90% to 7,217.22
- FTSE 100 decreased 18.47 points or -0.25% to 7,384.54
- DAX 30 increased 135.87 points or 0.86% to 16,020.73
The major Europe currency markets had a mixed day today:
- EURUSD decreased 0.00823 or -0.72% to 1.12887
- GBPUSD decreased 0.00555 or -0.41% to 1.34662
- USDCHF increased 0.00681 or 0.75% to 0.91879
Some economic news from Europe today:
Spain:
Spanish Manufacturing PMI (Dec) decreased from 57.1 to 56.2
Swiss:
procure.ch PMI (Dec) increased from 62.5 to 62.7
Italy:
Italian Manufacturing PMI (Dec) decreased from 62.8 to 62.0
France:
French Manufacturing PMI (Dec) decreased from 55.9 to 55.6
Germany:
German Manufacturing PMI (Dec) remain the same at 57.4
Norway:
Manufacturing PMI (Dec) decreased from 63.9 to 58.0
Euro Zone:
Manufacturing PMI (Dec) decreased from 58.4 to 58.0
US/AMERICAS:
A new poll by Slickdeals reveals that 76% of Americans have chosen becoming “smarter with finances” as their New Year’s Resolution. Of the 2,000 respondents, three in four cited rising inflation as “a major setback.” The average American is hoping to save $408 per month in 2022, which is $80 higher than how much Americans saved monthly in 2021.
Apple became the first company today to reach a market cap of $3 trillion. The tech giant briefly broke the barrier during midday trading when the share price rose to $182.86. The company closed the day at $182.01, just shy of the $3 trillion mark. Still, the milestone has provided bullish optimism among investors.
Flight cancelations in the US reached a peak on Saturday when 1,625 flights were canceled. There were 12,000 cancelations last week alone, leaving hundreds stranded at airports and costing airliners uncalculated revenue losses. Major airliners such as Delta and Southwest cited poor weather for the cancelations, while others hinted that omicron has an impact.
US Market Closings:
- Dow advanced 246.76 points or 0.68% to 36,585.06
- S&P 500 advanced 30.38 points or 0.64% to 4,796.56
- Nasdaq advanced 187.83 points or 1.2% to 15,832.8
- Russell 2000 advanced 27.24 points or 1.21% to 2,272.56
Canada Market Closings:
- TSX Composite declined 71.8 points or -0.34% to 21,222.84
- TSX 60 declined 5.48 points or -0.42% to 1,286.98
Brazil Market Closing:
- Bovespa declined 900.85 points or -0.86% to 103,921.59
ENERGY:
The oil markets had a mixed day today:
- Crude Oil increased 0.97 USD/BBL or 1.29% to 76.1800
- Brent increased 1.23 USD/BBL or 1.58% to 79.0100
- Natural gas decreased 0.018 USD/MMBtu or -0.48% to 3.7120
- Gasoline increased 0.0408 USD/GAL or 1.83% to 2.2654
- Heating oil increased 0.0386 USD/GAL or 1.66% to 2.3639
The above data was collected around 12:05 EST on Monday
- Top commodity gainers: Heating Oil (1.66%) and Brent (1.58%), Gasoline (1.83%), Rice (1.47%)
- Top commodity losers: Palladium (-3.23%), Lumber (-2.60%), Wheat (-1.88%), and Silver (-1.90%)
The above data was collected around 12:10 EST on Monday.
BONDS:
Japan 0.07%(+1.1bp), US 2’s 0.78% (+0.048%), US 10’s 1.6123% (+10.05bps); US 30’s 2.0012% (+0.10%), Bunds -0.125% (+5.4bp), France 0.24% (+4.6bp), Italy 1.218% (+3.3bp), Turkey 23.50% (+45bp), Greece 1.327% (+1.3bp), Portugal 0.516% (+3.1bp); Spain 0.619% (+2.44bp) and UK Gilts 0.972% (+0bp).
