Market Roundup
- South Korea November industrial output jumps, fastest in over 7 yrs - Reuters News.
- South Korea revises 2017 GDP forecast to 2.6 pct vs 3.0 pct estimated earlier.
- South Korea revises 2017 CPI forecast to 1.6 pct vs 1.9 pct estimated earlier.
- South Korea sees exports growing 2.9 pct in 2017 y/y, would be first rise since 2014.
- South Korea says recovery momentum declining, sees domestic demand growth slowing in 2017.
- South Korea Fin Min says weakening of the won right now isn't too fast.
- PBOC sets yuan mid-point at 6.9497 / dollar vs last close 6.9560.
- US 10yr bond trades sub-2.5% for first time since Dec 14 FOMC hike, 2.491% low thus far.
- Russian finance minister Siluanov says he does not expect sharp changes in rouble exchange rate.
- Thailand November manufacturing output +3.8 pct on year (vs +0.2 pct in Reuters poll) - Industry ministry.
Economic Data Ahead
- (0200 ET/0700 GMT) Norway Retail Sales Ex. Auto % Nov 0.20 eyed.
- (0400 ET/0900 GMT) Euro zone Money-M3 Annual Growth % Nov 4.4 eyed.
- (0400 ET/0900 GMT) Euro zone EZ Loans to Households % Nov 1.80 prev.
- (0400 ET/0900 GMT) Euro zone Loans to Non-Fin % Nov 2.10 prev.
Key Events Ahead
- (0500 ET/1000 GMT) Italy 7YFR E1.750B 0.287% 15/02/24.
- (0500 ET/1000 GMT) Italy 5Y E2.500B 0.350% 01/11/21.
- (0500 ET/1000 GMT) Italy 10Y E1.000B 7.250% 01/11/26.
- (0500 ET/1000 GMT) Italy 10Y E1.500B 1.250% 01/12/26.
FX Recap
USD: The dollar index was down 0.2 percent at 103.080, but still in reach of a 14-year high of 103.650 struck last week. The index has gained 4.4 percent this year, the bulk of the rise taking place after the U.S. elections early in November.
EUR/USD: The euro was given breathing space as the dollar weakened against its Japanese peer. The common currency was up 0.2 percent at $1.0460 after falling to as low as $1.0372 the previous day. Intraday bias remains bullish till the time pair holds key support at 1.0372 marks. Immediate resistance was seen at $1.0539 level. A daily close below 1.0408 will drag the parity down towards 1.0382 levels.
USD/JPY: The yen was up against the U.S. dollar in early hours of Asia and trading around at 116.66 mark. The dollar sagged against the yen on Thursday, weighed down by U.S. yields slipping to two-week lows and an ebb in risk appetite that favoured the safe-haven Japanese currency. A sustained close above 118.17 is required to take the parity higher towards 120.00 marks. Alternatively, a daily close below 117.24 will drag the parity down towards 114.81 levels.
GBP/USD: Sterling was up 0.1 percent at $1.2239. The pound was still in reach of a two-month low of $1.2201 set overnight amid fresh uncertainty over Britain's Brexit negotiations. Short term bias remains neutral till the time pair holds key support at 1.2200 levels. On the other side, current upside movement will take the parity higher towards key resistance around 1.2378 levels.
AUD/USD: The Australian dollar was up 0.25 percent at $0.7195. The Aussie was headed for a decline of 1.2 percent on the year against a broadly stronger dollar. Pair made intraday high at 0.7212 and low at 0.7165. A consistent close below 0.7170 will drag the parity towards key supports around 0.7142 and 0.7058 marks respectively. On the top side, key resistances are seen at 0.7260, 0.7312 and 0.7369 marks.
NZD/USD: The New Zealand dollar fared a little better, having risen 1.4 percent this year. While the kiwi lost steam towards the year's end against the rampant dollar, it benefitted from New Zealand's sound economic growth and relatively higher interest rates.
Equities Recap
South Korea’s Kospi was trading 0.04 percent lower at 2,023.72 points.
Tokyo's Nikkei was trading 1.38 percent lower at 19,134.26 points.
Australia’s S&P ASX 200 was trading 0.06 percent higher 5,688 points.
Shanghai composite index to open down 0.2 pct at 3,095.84 points and China's CSI300 index to open down 0.2 pct at 3,297.04 points.
Taiwan stocks open down 0.3 pct at 9,172.39 points.
India’s NSE Nifty was trading around 0.13 percent higher at 8,045.70 points and BSE Sensex was trading at 0.14 percent higher at 26,246 points.
Commodities Recap
Crude oil prices edged up for a fourth consecutive session on Wednesday, close to their highest levels since mid-2015, ahead of U.S. oil inventory figures and as the market awaits evidence of OPEC supply reductions in the New Year. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures settled 16 cents higher at $54.06 a barrel, not far from the year's high of $54.51 reached on Dec. 12. Brent crude futures ended up 13 cents at $56.22 a barrel. The international benchmark hit $57.89 on Dec. 12, its highest since July 2015.
Spot gold edged up 0.2 percent to $1,144.36 an ounce by 0044 GMT. Gold has risen about 8 percent so far this year despite an 8 percent drop in November. U.S. gold futures were up 0.4 percent at $1,145.40 per ounce.
Treasuries Recap
New Zealand government bonds jumped in line with U.S. Treasuries following strong demand for its 5-year debt.
Australian government bond futures rose too, with the three-year bond contract up 6 ticks at 97.930. The 10-year contract climbed 7 ticks to 97.1750.
10-year U.S. treasury yield was at 2.495 percent vs U.S. close of 2.508 percent on Wednesday.
