ASIA:
Goldman Sachs has cut China’s growth forecast to 7.8 percent this year from the previously estimated 8.2 percent as the world’s second largest economy faces “yet another growth shock” in the form of constraints on energy consumption. The country is already battling to save Evergrande amid fears that Chinese property behemoth could turn out into a ‘Lehman moment’ for the global markets and economy. Goldman Sachs has lowered the year-on-year forecasts for China’s economy to 4.8 per cent in the third quarter and 3.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared to 5.1 percent and 4.1 percent respectively for the third and fourth quarters of the previous financial year. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the Wall Street banking giant has slashed its forecast for China to 0 percent in the third quarter from a previous forecast of 1.3 percent, and 6 percent in the fourth quarter from the earlier estimated 8.5 percent.
The major Asian stock markets had a mixed day today:
- NIKKEI 225 increased 449.26 or 1.60% to 28,498.20
- Shanghai decreased 0.46 or -0.01% to 3,591.71
- Hang Seng increased 487.24 or 1.96% to 25,325.09
- ASX 200 decreased 20.30 points or -0.28% to 7,299.80
- Kospi closed
- SENSEX increased 76.72 points or 0.13% to 60,135.78
- Nifty50 increased 50.75 points or 0.28% to 17,945.95
The major Asian currency markets had a green day today:
- AUDUSD increased 0.00434 or 0.59% to 0.73494
- NZDUSD increased 0.00089 or 0.13% to 0.69404
- USDJPY increased 1.12 or 1.00% to 113.35
- USDCNY increased 0.01257 or 0.20% to 6.45835
Precious Metals:
- Gold decreased 1.24 USD/t oz. or -0.07% to 1,755.43
- Silver decreased 0.059 USD/t. oz or -0.26% to 22.601
No economic news from last night:
Some economic news from today:
Japan:
Machine Tool Orders (YoY) decreased from 85.2% to 71.9%
Indonesia:
Retail Sales (YoY) (Aug) increased from -2.9% to -2.1%
EUROPE/EMEA:
European Central Bank (ECB) launched an investigation phase of a digital euro project in July 2021. The investigation is set to last 24 months and will examine key challenges and opportunities for the design and distribution of a digital version of the euro. A digital euro would potentially reach a population of 340 million people if adopted by all of the 19 nations currently part of the Eurozone. The digital euro is envisioned as a central bank digital currency (CBDC), and its aim is to combine the efficiency of electronic payment with the safety of central bank money. ECB’s decision has come at a time of an unprecedented rise of cryptocurrencies, digital currencies backed by private tech giants (such as Facebook’s Diem project) and heightened geopolitical pressure for the EU to keep up with technological developments, given that China is already testing its digital yuan.
The major Europe stock markets had a mixed day:
- CAC 40 increased 10.55 points or 0.16% to 6,570.54
- FTSE 100 increased 51.30 points or 0.72% to 7,146.85
- DAX 30 decreased 6.99 points or -0.05% to 15,199.14
The major Europe currency markets had a mixed day today:
- EURUSD decreased 0.00129 or -0.11% to 1.15570
- GBPUSD decreased 0.00032 or -0.02% to 1.36076
- USDCHF increased 0.00064 or 0.07% to 0.92759
Some economic news from Europe today:
Norway:
Core CPI YTD (Sep) increased from 1.0% to 1.2%
Core Inflation (MoM) (Sep) increased from -0.6% to 0.4%
CPI (YoY) (Sep) increased from 3.4% to 4.1%
CPI (MoM) (Sep) increased from 0.9% to 1.0%
PPI (YoY) (Sep) increase from 50.1% to 57.8%
Italy:
Italian Industrial Production (MoM) (Aug) decreased from 1.0% to -0.2%
Italian Industrial Production (YoY) (Aug) decreased from 7.2% to 0.0%
US/AMERICAS:
Southwest Airlines experienced a logistically nightmare over the weekend after the company was forced to cancel thousands of flights due to a labor shortage. The sudden and unexpected shortage comes as the airline implements vaccine mandates for its employees, which has many walking off the job. By Saturday, Southwest had canceled over 2,000 flights. By Monday, the airline had canceled 30% of its scheduled flights and announced plans to cut down their entire fall flight schedule.
A recent report by Realtor.com indicated that housing inventory in the US is currently at its highest level for 2021. Additionally, sellers have adjusted their prices downward for the second consecutive month. Homes are now staying on the market for an average of 43 days as well, whereas homes were selling within days months ago. However, real estate experts still see this as a seller’s market. Housing is more widely available but inventory remains depleted for a variety of factors. The median home price in September reached a record high of $380,000 as well.
Netflix is partnering up with Walmart to provide consumers with merchandise. “Walmart is now the official one-stop shop to bring your favorite Netflix stories home,” executive Jeff Evans stated. Netflix has plans to open an online store in June to sell clothing, toys, and other novelty items. However, the subscription service lost 433,000 users in North America between April and June. Representatives from both companies are optimistic that the partnership could become lucrative, especially with the success of many Netflix Original series.
US Market Closings:
- Dow declined 250.19 points or -0.72% to 34,496.06
- S&P 500 declined 30.15 points or -0.69% to 4,361.19
- Nasdaq declined 93.34 points or -0.64% to 14,486.2
- Russell 2000 declined 12.45 points or -0.56% to 2,220.64
Canada Market Closings:
- TSX Composite advanced 0.1 of a point or 0% to 20,416.31
- TSX 60 advanced 1.34 points or 0.11% to 1,226.76
Brazil Market Closing:
- Bovespa declined 652.72 points or -0.58% to 112,180.48
ENERGY:
The oil markets had a mixed day today:
- Crude Oil increased 1.09 USD/BBL or 1.37% to 80.4400
- Brent increased 1.16 USD/BBL or 1.41% to 83.5500
- Natural gas decreased 0.17 USD/MMBtu or -3.05% to 5.3950
- Gasoline increased 0.0108 USD/GAL or 0.46% to 2.3770
- Heating oil increased 0.037 USD/GAL or 1.50% to 2.5107
The above data was collected around 15:51 EST on Monday
- Top commodity gainers: Oat (2.83%) and Methanol (5.97%), Lumber (5.09%) and Rubber (3.28%)
- Top commodity losers: Platinum (-1.81%), Cocoa (-2.51%), Natural Gas (-3.05%), and Orange Juice (-2.41%)
The above data was collected around 15:59 EST on Monday.
BONDS:
Japan 0.091%(+1.1bp), US 2’s 0.32%(+0.01%), US 10’s 1.6118%(+3.54bps); US 30’s 2.17%(+0.037%),Bunds -0.1160% (+3.1bp), France 0.2190% (+2.5bp), Italy 0.9132% (+3.19bp), Turkey 18.18% (-4bp), Greece 0.9310% (+4.1bp), Portugal 0.400% (+4.2bp); Spain 0.522% (+2.71bp) and UK Gilts 1.196% (+3.2bp).
