ASIA:
India on Thursday proposed scrapping a controversial law that taxed companies retrospectively and said it will refund disputed amounts, a move that could potentially settle its multi-billion-dollar tax cases with Cairn Energy and Vodafone. The amendment to the tax law could resolve at least 17 disputes of tax payments amounting to 500 billion rupees ($6.7 billion) or more, and will help boost investor confidence in the South Asian economy, analysts said.
The major Asian stock markets had a mixed day today:
- NIKKEI 225 increased 91.92 points or 0.33% to 27,820.04
- Shanghai decreased 8.32 points or -0.24% to 3,458.23
- Hang Seng decreased 25.29 or -0.10% to 26,179.40
- ASX 200 increased 27.30 points or 0.36% to 7,538.40
- Kospi decreased 5.77 points or -0.18% to 3,270.36
- SENSEX decreased 215.12 points or -0.39% to 54,277.72
- Nifty50 decreased 56.40 points or -0.35% to 16,238.20
The major Asian currency markets had a mixed day today:
- AUDUSD decreased 0.00580 or -0.78% to 0.73478
- NZDUSD decreased 0.00500 or -0.70% to 0.70014
- USDJPY increased 0.53100 or 0.48% to 110.29
- USDCNY increased 0.02230 or 0.35% to 6.48296
Precious Metals:
- Gold decreased 44.23 USD/t oz. or -2.45% to 1,759.78
- Silver decreased 0.88 USD/t. oz or -3.49% to 24.254
Some economic news from last night:
Japan:
Average Cash Earnings (YoY) decreased from 1.9% to -0.1%
Household Spending (YoY) (Jun) decreased from 11.6% to -5.1%
Household Spending (MoM) (Jun) decreased from -2.1% to -3.2%
Overall wage income of employees (Jun) decreased from 1.9% to -0.1%
Overtime Pay (YoY) (Jun) decreased from 19.90% to 18.30%
Foreign Reserves (USD) (Jul) increased from 1,376.5B to 1,386.5B
South Korea:
Current Account (Jun) decreased from 10.76B to 8.85B
Australia:
AIG Services Index (Jul) decreased from 57.8 to 51.7
Some economic news from today:
India:
Cash Reserve Ratio remain the same at 4.00%
Interest Rate Decision remain the same at 4.00%
Reverse REPO Rate remain the same at 3.35%
FX Reserves, USD increased from 611.15B to 620.58B
Japan:
Coincident Indicator (MoM) (Jun) increased from -3.2% to 1.9%
Leading Index (MoM) (Jun) increased from -1.2% to 1.5%
Leading Index increased from 102.6 to 104.1
Hong Kong:
Foreign Reserves (USD) (Jul) increased from 491.60B to 494.80B
Indonesia:
FX Reserves (USD) (Jul) increased from 137.10B to 137.30B
Singapore:
Foreign Reserves USD (MoM) (Jul) increased from 398.4B to 407.7B
EUROPE/EMEA:
It was another relatively bullish day for the European majors on Thursday. The CAC40 rose by 0.52%, with the DAX30 and the EuroStoxx600 ending the day up by 0.33% and by 0.39% respectively. The euro area economy rebounded in the 2nd quarter and is on track for strong growth in the 3rd. Germany’s factory orders jumped by 4.1%, month-on-month, coming well ahead of a forecasted 1.8% rise. In May, orders had tumbled by 3.7%. Domestic orders jumped by 9.6%, while foreign orders rose by just 0.4%.
The major Europe stock markets had a green day:
- CAC 40 increased 35.77 points or 0.53% to 6,816.96
- FTSE 100 increased 2.52 points or 0.04% to 7,122.95
- DAX 30 increased 16.78 points or 0.11% to 15,761.45
The major Europe currency markets had a mixed day today:
- EURUSD decreased 0.00730 or -0.62% to 1.17600
- GBPUSD decreased 0.00678 or -0.49% to 1.38621
- USDCHF increased 0.00780 or 0.86% to 0.91439
Some economic news from Europe today:
UK:
Halifax House Price Index (YoY) decreased from 8.7% to 7.6%
Halifax House Price Index (MoM) (Jul) increased from -0.6% to 0.4%
Germany:
German Industrial Production (MoM) (Jun) decreased from -0.8% to -1.3%
Norway:
Credit Indicator (YoY) (Jun) increased from 5.2% to 5.3%
France:
French Current Account (Jun) increased from -2.40B to -0.50B
French Exports (Jun) increased from 39.5B to 41.6B
French Imports (Jun) increased from 46.1B to 47.4B
French Non-Farm Payrolls (QoQ) (Q2) increased from 0.3% to 1.2%
French Reserve Assets Total (Jul) increased from 186,242.0M to 190,654.0M
French Trade Balance (Jun) increased from -6.8B to -5.8B
Spain:
Spanish Industrial Production (YoY) (Jun) decreased from 25.0% to 11.1%
Italy:
Italian Industrial Production (YoY) (Jun) decreased from 21.1% to 13.9%
Italian Industrial Production (MoM) (Jun) increased from -1.6% to 1.0%
US/AMERICAS:
America’s workforce recovery is underway after nonfarm payrolls rose by 943,000 in July, surpassing analysts’ expectations of 845,000. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, labor force participation reached its highest level since the pandemic began at 61.7%. Average hourly earnings rose slightly by 0.4% for July. With easing restrictions, the hard-hit hospitality sector saw the most notable gain after adding 380,000 jobs, with 253,000 of those positions directly tied to bars and restaurants. The education sector rose as well as schools begin to reopen, posting 261,000 new hires for the month. The unemployment rate in the US now stands at 5.4%, still beneath the pre-pandemic level of 3.5%.
The Canadian economy expanded by 94,000 positions in July amid ongoing lockdowns by the Trudeau Administration. The unemployment rate now sits at 7.5%, a 0.3% increase from June. This figure is still 1.3% (246,000 jobs) below pre-pandemic levels.
Around 9,000 workers from the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) and the Customs and Immigration Union (CIU) went on a work-to-rule strike this Friday after failing to reach a contract with the Canadian government. Union leaders say travelers “should expect long lineups and lengthy delays at border crossings and airports.” The strike comes days prior to the US-Canadian border reopening. Rick Savage, first national vice-president for the Customs and Immigration Union said that Americans crossing into the border “can expect higher scrutiny on them, they can expect their goods to be searched they can expect their vehicles to be searched.” Savage said the workers are not opposed to a full strike if demands are not meant, which he expects to negatively impact C$87 million worth of trade between the US and Canada.
US Market Closings:
- Dow advanced 144.39 points or 0.41% to 35,208.64
- S&P 500 advanced 7.45 points or 0.17% to 4,436.55
- Nasdaq declined 59.35 points or -0.4% to 14,835.76
- Russell 2000 advanced 11.75 points or 0.53% to 2,247.76
Canada Market Closings:
- TSX Composite advanced 99.94 points or 0.49% to 20,475.42
- TSX 60 advanced 7.82 points or 0.64% to 1,231.5
Brazil Market Closing:
- Bovespa advanced 1,177./44 points or 0.97% to 122,810.36
ENERGY:
The oil markets had a mixed day today:
- Crude Oil decreased 0.61 USD/BBL or -0.88% to 68.4700
- Brent decreased 0.44 USD/BBL or -0.62% to 70.8500
- Natural gas increased 0.03 USD/MMBtu or 0.63% to 4.1660
- Gasoline decreased 0.02 USD/GAL or -1.02% to 2.2707
- Heating oil decreased 0.01 USD/GAL or -0.53% to 2.0949
The above data was collected around 12:55 EST on Friday
- Top commodity gainers: Methanol (2.74%), Canola (1.84%), Bitumen (3.86%) and Coal (2.72%)
- Top commodity losers: Steel (-1.21%), Platinum (-2.60%), Gold (-2.45%), and Silver (-3.49%)
The above data was collected around 13:00 EST on Friday.
BONDS:
Japan 0.027%(+2bp), US 2’s 0.21%(+0.008%), US 10’s 1.2952%(+7bps); US 30’s 1.9395%(+0.08%),Bunds -0.4550% (+4bp), France -0.1210% (+3bp), Italy 0.5717% (+4bp), Turkey 16.90% (+7bp), Greece 0.5520% (+2bp), Portugal 0.132% (+3bp); Spain 0.247% (+10bp) and UK Gilts 0.614% (+9bp).
