Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 0.75%, Shanghai Composite up 0.65%, Hang Seng down 0.33% ASX up 0.19%
- Commodities : Gold at $2494.35 (0.6%), Silver at $28.03 (2.4%), Brent Oil at $79.97 (0.26%), WTI Oil at $77.9 (0.34%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 3.836, UK 10-year yield at 3.8291, Germany 10-year yield at 2.182
News & Data:
- (USD) Core CPI m/m 0.2% vs 0.2% expected
- (USD) CPI m/m 0.1% vs 0.2% expected
- (USD) CPI y/y 2.9% vs 3.0% expected
Markets Update:
Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose on Thursday, driven by Japan’s stronger-than-expected GDP growth and mixed data from China. Japan’s second-quarter GDP increased by 0.8% quarter-on-quarter, surpassing forecasts of a 0.5% rise. This marked a recovery from the 0.6% decline in the first quarter. However, on a year-on-year basis, Japan’s GDP fell by 0.8%, continuing a downward trend from the previous quarter’s 0.9% contraction. The Nikkei 225 gained 0.75%, while the Topix index rose 0.74%.
China’s retail sales for July grew by 2.7% year-on-year, slightly above the 2.6% forecast, while industrial output increased by 5.1%, just below expectations. The urban unemployment rate edged up to 5.2% from 5% in June. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.19% as the unemployment rate increased by 0.1 percentage point to 4.2%, and the participation rate exceeded expectations at 67.1%.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell by 0.33%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 gained 0.79%. Markets in South Korea and India were closed for a public holiday.
On Wall Street, stocks rose after U.S. inflation data aligned with expectations. U.S. consumer prices increased by 2.9% year-on-year, the lowest since March 2021, and matched economists’ forecasts. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.61%, the S&P 500 gained 0.38%, marking its fifth consecutive day of gains, and the Nasdaq Composite reversed losses to close 0.03% higher.
Upcoming Events:
- 12:30 PM GMT – USD Core Retail Sales m/m
- 12:30 PM GMT – USD Retail Sales m/m
- 12:30 PM GMT – USD Unemployment Claims
