ASIA:
The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee began its bi-monthly deliberations today amid expectations of keeping repo and reverse repo rates unchanged on the back of the fear of the third COVID-19 wave. The monetary policy outcome will be announced on Friday, August 6, 2021. Analysts expect MPC to retain the policy interest rates at historic lows. The inflation outlook for FY22 could also see a revision from the predicted levels of 5.1 percent. Moreover, the RBI MPC is also likely to keep the policy accommodative, maintaining comfortable liquidity in the system. The RBI had kept key interest rates unchanged at the last MPC meeting held in June this year. The repo rate was kept at 4 percent, and the reverse repo rate at 3.35 percent.
The major Asian stock markets had a mixed day today:
- NIKKEI 225 decreased 57.75 points or -0.21% to 27,584.08
- Shanghai increased 29.23 points or 0.85% to 3,477.22
- Hang Seng increased 231.73 or 0.88% to 26,426.55
- ASX 200 increased 28.70 points or 0.38% to 7,503.20
- Kospi increased 43.24 points or 1.34% to 3,280.38
- SENSEX increased 546.41 points or 1.02% to 54,369.77
- Nifty50 increased 128.05 points or 0.79% to 16,258.80
The major Asian currency markets had a mixed day today:
- AUDUSD decreased 0.00190 or -0.26% to 0.73793
- NZDUSD increased 0.00010 or 0.01% to 0.70474
- USDJPY increased 0.51600 or 0.47% to 109.51
- USDCNY decreased 0.00310 or -0.05% to 6.46190
Precious Metals:
- Gold increased 1.27 USD/t oz. or 0.07% to 1,811.21
- Silver decreased 0.122 USD/t. oz or -0.48% to 25.428
Some economic news from last night:
China:
Caixin Services PMI (Jul) increased from 50.3 to 54.9
Chinese Composite PMI increased from 50.6 to 53.1
Hong Kong:
Manufacturing PMI (Jul) decreased from 51.4 to 51.3
Japan:
Services PMI (Jul) decreased from 48.0 to 47.4
South Korea:
FX Reserves – USD (Jul) increased from 454.11B to 458.68B
Australia:
AIG Construction Index (Jul) decreased from 55.5 to 48.7
Services PMI decreased from 56.8 to 44.2
Retail Sales (MoM) (Jun) remain the same at -1.8%
Retail Sales (QoQ) (Q2) increased from -0.5% to 0.8%
New Zealand:
ANZ Commodity Price Index (MoM) decreased from 0.8% to -1.4%
Employment Change (QoQ) (Q2) increased from 0.6% to 1.0%
Labor Cost Index (YoY) (Q2) increased from 1.6% to 2.2%
Labor Cost Index (QoQ) (Q2) increased from 0.4% to 0.9%
Participation Rate (Q2) increased from 70.40% to 70.50%
Unemployment Rate (Q2) decreased from 4.6% to 4.0%
Some economic news from today:
India:
Nikkei Services PMI (Jul) increased from 41.2 to 45.4
EUROPE/EMEA:
Growth in Britain’s dominant service sector has slowed to its weakest since March after businesses were hit last month by a triple whammy of bottlenecks, workers self-isolating, and a less generous tax break for homebuyers. The report from IHS Markit and the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply said firms were struggling with supply chain delays and shortages of workers exacerbated by the “pingdemic,” or the instructions to self-isolate that have been running at more than 500,000 a week. IHS Markit/Cips said the reduction in the threshold at which stamp duty is paid on house purchases from £500,000 to £250,000 in England and Northern Ireland at the end of June was also a factor in slowing growth in activity to a four-month low.
The major Europe stock markets had a green day:
- CAC 40 increased 22.42 points or 0.33% to 6,746.23
- FTSE 100 increased 18.14 points or 0.26% to 7,123.86
- DAX 30 increased 137.05 points or 0.88% to 15,692.13
The major Europe currency markets had a mixed day today:
- EURUSD decreased 0.00310 or -0.26% to 1.18381
- GBPUSD decreased 0.00140 or -0.10% to 1.39013
- USDCHF increased 0.00260 or 0.29% to 0.90636
Some economic news from Europe today:
France:
French Government Budget Balance (Jun) decreased from -118.8B to -131.3B
French Markit Composite PMI (Jul) decreased from 57.4 to 56.6
French Services PMI (Jul) decreased from 57.8 to 56.8
Spain:
Spanish Services PMI (Jul) decreased from 62.5 to 61.9
Italy:
Italian Composite PMI (Jul) increased from 58.3 to 58.6
Italian Services PMI (Jul) increased from 56.7 to 58.0
Italian Retail Sales (YoY) (Jun) decreased from 13.6% to 7.7%
Italian Retail Sales (MoM) (Jun) increased from -0.1% to 0.7%
Germany:
German Composite PMI (Jul) increased from 60.1 to 62.4
German Services PMI (Jul) increased from 57.5 to 61.8
Euro Zone:
Markit Composite PMI (Jul) increased from 59.5 to 60.2
Services PMI (Jul) increased from 58.3 to 59.8
Retail Sales (YoY) (Jun) decreased from 8.6% to 5.0%
Retail Sales (MoM) (Jun) decreased from 4.1% to 1.5%
UK:
Composite PMI (Jul) decreased from 62.2 to 59.2
Services PMI (Jul) decreased from 62.4 to 59.6
Norway:
House Price Index (YoY) (Jul) decreased from 10.10% to 8.50%
US/AMERICAS:
New data from ADP shows that US private sector job growth slowed in July. The US labor market incorporated an additional 330,000 private sector jobs, drastically under the 680,000 positions added in June. Analysts were expecting the private sector to grow by 695,000 jobs. The service sector saw the most notable gains in July after adding 318,000 jobs. Education and health services expanded by 64,000, professional business services by 54,000, and trade by 36,000.
An independent report has found New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo guilty of sexually harassing eleven women. The report surfacing says he used “fear and intimidation” to create a toxic work environment where women were subject to “unwanted groping, kissing, and hugging.” President Joe Biden is now calling upon the governor to resign, surprising those who thought the Democratic leader would not oust one of their own. Cuomo has called the report “insulting” and claims innocence.
In an effort to attract much-needed retail workers, Target announced today that it will offer to pay employees college tuition. In addition to paying for tuition and course related fees, the retailer will also pay for individuals wishing to peruse a master’s degree at the price of $10,000 per year. The news comes after other retailers and restaurants, such as Walmart, Chipotle, and Starbucks, offered a similar option to attract and retain employees.
Canadian building permits advanced 6.9% in June from the month prior, according to Statistics Canada. Analysts had only expected a 5.5% increase. The increase represents C$10.3 billion, with Ontario experiencing the largest jump at 22.7%. Single-family housing permits rose 9.1%, the first gain after a two-month decline. Non-residential permits advanced 2.2%, with Alberta experiencing a 32.7% increase. Multi-family home permits rose 13.5% (C$3.7 billion), with Ontario experiencing a 67.8% increase and Quebec falling -29.9%.
US Market Closings:
- Dow declined 323.73 points or -0.92% to 34,792.67
- S&P 500 declined 20.49 points or -0.46% to 4,402.66
- Nasdaq advanced 19.24 points or 0.13% to 14,780.53
- Russell 2000 declined 27.26 points or -1.23% to 2,196.32
Canada Market Closings:
- TSX Composite declined 36.12 points or -0.18% to 20,329.73
- TSX 60 declined 1.4 points or -0.11% to 1,221.3
Brazil Market Closing:
- Bovespa declined 1,775.35 points or -1.44% to 121,801.21
ENERGY:
The oil markets had a mixed day today:
- Crude Oil decreased 2.19 USD/BBL or -3.10% to 68.3700
- Brent decreased 1.8 USD/BBL or -2.49% to 70.6100
- Natural gas increased 0.153 USD/MMBtu or 3.80% to 4.1800
- Gasoline decreased 0.0217 USD/GAL or -0.96% to 2.2491
- Heating oil decreased 0.0494 USD/GAL or -2.32% to 2.0768
The above data was collected around 13:31 EST on Wednesday
- Top commodity gainers: Natural Gas (3.80%), Palm Oil (3.62%), Orange Juice (2.59%) and Canola (1.51%)
- Top commodity losers: Platinum (-2.53%), Methanol (-2.87%), Crude Oil (-3.10%), and Lumber (-6.93%)
The above data was collected around 13:43 EST on Wednesday.
BONDS:
Japan 0.001%(-1bp), US 2’s 0.1822%(+0.01%), US 10’s 1.1820%(+0.82bps); US 30’s 1.8376%(-0.01%), Bunds -0.4980% (-1.7bp), France -0.1500% (-1.9bp), Italy 0.5653% (-0bp), Turkey 16.67% (+0bp), Greece 0.5470% (-1bp), Portugal 0.127% (-1bp); Spain 0.235% (+6.55bp) and UK Gilts 0.518% (-0bp).
- German 5-Year Bobl Auction decreased from -0.590% to -0.760%
