Menu

Search

  |   Market Roundups

Menu

  |   Market Roundups

Search

Asia Roundup: Aussie hits 5-month low on RBA meeting minutes, dollar index near 1-week high on higher U.S. Treasury yields, Asian shares gain - Tuesday, November 21st, 2017

Market Roundup

  • Merkel signals readiness for new election after coalition talks collapse
     
  • Yellen to leave Fed board once successor Powell sworn in
     
  • Trump declares N. Korea state sponsor of terrorism, triggers sanctions

  • S.Korea, Japan say listing N. Korea as terror sponsor will pressure Pyongyang to denuclearise
     
  • Australia’s c. bank uncertain on wages recovery as it holds rates at record lows
     
  • UK's May meets senior ministers to discuss Brexit divorce bill offer
     
  • EU's Barnier presses UK on Irish border Brexit problem
     
  • Profits rise but smaller UK manufacturers lukewarm on investment - survey
     
  • Activist funds flock to Toshiba’s massive Y600 bln share offering - Nikkei

Economic Data Ahead

  • (0600 ET/1100 GMT) Great Britain Nov CBI Trends Order f' cast 3, -2 last

Key Events Ahead

  • N/A Central and E.European cen bankers participate in a conference – Vienna
  • N/A France's Le Maire, EU antitrust chief speak at innovation conference – Paris
  • (0500 ET/1000 GMT) BoE's Cunliffe and others participate in a committee meeting – London
  • (0905 ET/1405 GMT) Riksbank Jochnick participates in a panel discussion – Copenhagen
  • (1000 ET/1500 GMT) ECB's Coeure chairs a ECB Conference - Frankfurt
  • (1800 ET/2300 GMT) Fed's Yellen participates in moderated discussion – New York

FX Beat

DXY: The dollar index steadied near a 1-week high ahead of the Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's speech later in the day. The greenback against a basket of currencies traded 0.1 percent up at 93.98, having touched a high of 94.10 earlier, its highest since Nov. 14. FxWirePro's Hourly Dollar Strength Index stood at 65.63 (Bullish) by 0500 GMT.

EUR/USD: The euro steadied after falling to a 6-day low in the previous session after German coalition government talks collapsed. The European currency traded 0.1 percent up at 1.1738, having touched a low of 1.1722 the day before, its lowest since Nov. 14. FxWirePro's Hourly Euro Strength Index stood at -56.99 (Bearish) by 0400 GMT. Investors’ attention will remain on the EU Financial Stability Review report, ahead of the U.S. existing homes sales and Chicago Fed National Activity Index. Immediate resistance is located at 1.1775 (5-DMA), a break above targets 1.1836 (Oct. 26 High). On the downside, support is seen at 1.1722 (Previous Session Low), a break below could drag it till 1.1686 (21-DMA).

USD/JPY: The dollar consolidated within a narrow range after rebounding from a 1-month low in the previous session, as trading is expected to be relatively thin this week ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. The major was trading 0.05 percent down at 112.57, having hit a low of 111.88 the day before, its lowest since Oct. 16. FxWirePro's Hourly Yen Strength Index stood at 82.84 (Slightly Bullish) by 0400 GMT. Investors’ will continue to track broad-based market sentiment, ahead of the U.S. existing homes sales and Chicago Fed National Activity Index for further momentum. Immediate resistance is located at 112.97, a break above targets 113.52 (21-DMA). On the downside, support is seen at 112.30, a break below could take it near 111.88 (Previous Session Low).

GBP/USD: Sterling rallied, extending gains for the sixth straight session on views that the weekend's news around the progress of Brexit negotiations to be mildly positive for the British currency. The major traded 0.1 percent up at 1.3248, having hit a high of 1.3279 on Monday, it’s highest since Nov. 2. FxWirePro's Hourly Sterling Strength Index stood at 110.27 (Highly Bullish) by 0400 GMT. Investors’ focus will remain on political developments, ahead of the U.S. fundamental drivers. Immediate resistance is located at 1.3280, a break above could take it near 1.3320. On the downside, support is seen at 1.3170 (10-DMA), a break below targets 1.3112 (Nov 10 Low). Against the euro, the pound was trading 0.05 percent up at 88.60 pence, having hit a high of 88.56 pence the prior day, it’s highest since Nov. 13.

AUD/USD: The Australian dollar slumped to fresh 5-month lows after the minutes from the latest meeting of the country's central bank highlighted concerns on sluggish and cemented views that interest rates will stay at record lows in near term. The Aussie trades 0.1 percent down at 0.7540, having hit a low of 0.7532; it’s lowest since Jun. 14. FxWirePro's Hourly Aussie Strength Index stood at -109.32 (Highly Bearish) by 0500 GMT. Immediate support is seen at 0.7521, a break below targets 0.7500. On the upside, resistance is located at 0.7608 (78.6% retracement of 0.7883 and 0.7532), a break above could take it near 0.7667 (61.8% retracement).

NZD/USD: The New Zealand dollar edged down, hovering just above the lowest level in 1-1/2 years, as investors remained concerned about the risk of milk oversupply ahead of a global dairy auction. The Kiwi trades 0.1 percent down at 0.6803, having touched a low of 0.6780 on Friday, its lowest level since June 2016. FxWirePro's Hourly Kiwi Strength Index was at -116.21 (Highly Bearish) by 0500 GMT. Immediate resistance is located at 0.6844 (5-DMA), a break above could take it near 0.6890 (21-DMA). On the downside, support is seen at 0.6780 (Nov. 17 Low), a break below could drag it lower 0.6740.

Equities Recap

Asian shares rose following overnight gains on Wall Street, while the dollar hovered near a one-week high against its major peers boosted by higher U.S. yields and a weaker euro.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.5 percent.

Tokyo's Nikkei advanced 0.9 percent to 22,456.68 points, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index rallied 0.3 percent to 5,963.50 points and South Korea's KOSPI gained 0.2 percent to 2,532.50 points.

Shanghai composite index rose 0.5 percent to 3,409.66 points, while CSI300 index was trading 1.5 percent up at 4,206.15 points.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was trading 1.4 percent higher at 29,661.26 points. Taiwan shares added 1.1 percent to 10,779.24 points.

Commodities Recap

Crude oil prices steadied, as the impact from expectations of an extended OPEC-led production cut was canceled out by increasing output in the United States. International benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.1 percent up at $62.23 per barrel by 0447 GMT, having hit a low of $61.06 on Friday, its lowest since Nov. 3. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was trading 0.1 percent up at $56.43 a barrel, after falling as low as $54.87 last week, its lowest since Nov. 3.

Gold prices edged up after falling more than 1 percent in the previous session, as U.S. President Donald Trump's move to put North Korea back on a list of state sponsors of terrorism supported the metal's safe-haven appeal. Spot gold was 0.3 percent up at $1,279.84 per ounce by 0453 GMT, having declined about 1.4 percent on Monday in its biggest one-day percentage drop since Sept. 11. U.S. gold futures for December delivery gained 0.3 percent to $1,278.60.

Treasuries Recap

The 10-year U.S Treasury yield stood at 2.361 percent higher by 0.001 bps, while 5-year yield was 0.001 bps up at 2.093 percent.

The Japanese bonds traded a tad higher as investors remained sidelined in any major deal ahead of the Thanksgiving Day holiday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to its price, fell 1/2 basis point to 0.034 percent, the yield on long-term 40-year also declined 1/2 basis point to 0.980 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year remained nearly steady at -0.195 percent.

The Australian government bonds remained little lower as the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) November monetary policy meeting minutes provided no surprises to the market. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to its price, rose 1-1/2 basis points to 2.570 percent, the yield on the long-term 30-year note climbed 2-1/2 basis points to 3.349 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year rose 1/2 basis point to 1.783 percent.

The New Zealand bonds closed narrowly mixed on Tuesday as investors awaited Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction scheduled to be held today. At the time of closing, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to its price, fell 1 basis point to 2.840 percent, the yield on 20-year note also dipped 1 basis point to 3.410 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year ended 1/2 basis points higher at 2.000 percent.

The Canadian government bond prices were lower across the yield curve, with the two-year down 3.5 Canadian cents to yield 1.475 percent and the 10-year falling 15 Canadian cents to yield 1.956 percent.

  • Market Data
Close

Welcome to EconoTimes

Sign up for daily updates for the most important
stories unfolding in the global economy.