There were no top-tier reports printed earlier today, but positive economic themes at play were enough catalysts for market bulls.
- NZ food price index slips by another 0.6% in November
- AU MI inflation expectations shoots up by 4.0% vs. 3.6% gain in October
- U.K.’s RICS house price balance lower from -10% to -11% in November
Major Events/Reports:
Easing trade tensions = risk-taking
We didn’t see any major economic reports printed during the Asian session, but the combo of Theresa May surviving a no-confidence vote, a recovery in U.S. equities (especially the tech sector!), and China buying 1.5 million to 2 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans all contributed to a risk-friendly trading environment.
- Nikkei is up by 0.99% to 21,817.4
- A SX 200 is up by 0.22% to 5,674.5
- Shanghai index is up by 1.60% to 2,643.795
- Hang Seng is up by 1.34% to $26,537.8
Commodities were a little more mixed, with gold dragged lower by a bit of dollar demand. Meanwhile, crude oil prices extended their gains when Uncle Sam printed a drawdown in crude oil inventories.
- Gold is down by 0.06% to $1,2544.48 per troy ounce
- Brent crude oil is up by 0.38% to $60.44 per barrel
- U.S. WTI is up by 0.27% to $51.31 per barrel
Major Market Mover(s):
AUD
China making its first major purchase of U.S. soybeans in six months communicated China’s willingness to further its trade negotiations with the U.S.
An end to the U.S.-China trade war means better prospects for Australia’s largest export market, so the Aussie became one of the strongest currencies during the trading session.
AUD/USD is up by 12 pips (+0.16%) to .7228; AUD/JPY is up by 25 pips (+0.31%) to 82.00; AUD/CHF is up by 14 pips (+0.19%) to .7184; AUD/CAD is up by 20 pips (+0.20%) to .9655; EUR/AUD is down by 19 pips (-0.12%) to 1.5726, and GBP/AUD is down by 30 pips (-0.17%) to 1.7452.
JPY
Not surprisingly, today’s bout of risk-taking boosted the yen higher against its peers.
USD/JPY is up by 17 pips (+0.15%) to 113.44; EUR/JPY is up by 18 pips (+0.14%) to 128.96; GBP/JPY is up by 14 pips (+0.10%) to 143.11; NZD/JPY is up by 15 pips (+0.19%) to 77.80, and CHF/JPY is up by 13 pips (+0.12%) to 114.14.
Watch Out For:
- 7:00 am GMT: Germany’s final CPI not expected to budge from 0.1% initial reading
- 7:45 am GMT: France’s final CPI expected to maintain -0.2% mark
- 8:15 am GMT: Switzerland’s PPI (0.1% expected, 0.2% previous)
- 8:30 am GMT: SNB’s monetary policy and LIBOR decision. Read our short trading guide if you’re planning on trading the event!
- 9:00 am GMT: SNB’s presser