Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 0.68%, Shanghai Composite up 0.86%, Hang Seng up 0.82%, ASX up 1.47%
- Commodities : Gold at $1928.70 (+1.77%), Silver at $27.30 (+3.37%), Brent Oil at $52.92 (+2.16%), WTI Oil at $49.48 (+1.98%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 0.942, UK 10-year yield at 0.192, Germany 10-year yield at -0.574
Markets Update:
Asian stocks were mixed on Monday, with renewed concerns about the spread of the coronavirus keeping underlying sentiment cautious ahead of a busy week on the economic calendar.
Minutes of the Federal Reserve’s December meeting will be released on Wednesday as investors look for fresh guidance on its asset purchases. A raft of manufacturing and service surveys across the globe as well as the closely-watched U.S. December payroll report may provide further clues on the pace of economic recovery.
Mainland Chinese stocks rose on the day: The Shanghai composite gained 0.9% while the Shenzhen component soared 2.5%. Japanese shares lagged the broader gains in the region, as the Nikkei 225 dipped 0.7% while the Topix index shed 0.6%. This comes after Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said he would consider declaring a fresh state of emergency in the Tokyo area to stem record numbers of COVID-19 cases in the country over the past few days. Stocks in Australia rose, with the S&P/ASX 200 up 1.5%.
The Federal Reserve will also release the minutes from its December meeting on Wednesday. The minutes are expected to offer more detail on the discussions about making their forward policy guidance more explicit and the chance of a further increase in asset buying in 2021.
Oil prices extended their rise after a couple of months of solid gains, with Brent testing resistance around $52.50 a barrel. The dollar index was last at 89.704, not far from its recent 2-1/2-year low of 89.515 having shed almost 7% in 2020.
Upcoming Events:
Monday, January 04, 2021
- 03:00 PM GMT – (GBP) Final Manufacturing PMI
- 03:00 PM GMT – (All) OPEC-JMMC Meetings
- 08:00 PM GMT – (CAD) Manufacturing PMI
Tuesday, January 05, 2021
- 08:30 PM GMT – (USD) ISM Manufacturing PMI
Wednesday, January 06, 2021
- 06:45 PM GMT – (USD) ADP Non-Farm Employment Change
- 07:30 PM GMT – (GBP) BOE Gov Bailey Speaks
Thursday, January 07, 2021
- 12:30 AM GMT – (USD) FOMC Meeting Minutes
- 07:00 PM GMT – (USD) Unemployment Claims
- 08:30 PM GMT – (CAD) Ivey PMI
- 08:30 PM GMT – (USD) ISM Services PMI
Friday, January 08, 2021
- 07:00 PM GMT – (CAD) Employment Change
- 07:00 PM GMT – (CAD) Unemployment Rate
- 07:00 PM GMT – (USD) Average Hourly Earnings m/m
- 07:00 PM GMT – (USD) Non-Farm Employment Change
- 07:00 PM GMT – (USD) Unemployment Rate
