Tag Archives: US

Overview: There is nervous calm in the capital markets today.  The weakness of US shares yesterday is taking a toll today. An exception in the Asia Pacific region is the Hang Seng and the index of mainland shares that trade there, which up around 3.5% today on thUe easing of some Covid protocols.  Europe’s Stoxx 600 is off for a fifth day, its longest losing streak in nearly two months. US futures are posting minor gains. Benchmark 10-year yields are mostly little...

Overview: The sharp sell-off of US stocks yesterday as sapped the risk appetite today. Equities are being sold. Hong Kong and the index of mainland shares that are listed there led the regional decline with 3.2%-3.3% losses. Europe’s Stoxx 600 is off about 0.65% in late morning turnover, the fourth day of losses. US futures are trading with a lower bias as well. European 10-year bonds are mostly 1-2 bp firmer. The US 10-year Treasury is practically flat at 3.53%....

Overview: The 11 bp jump in the 10-year US yield yesterday after dropping nearly 26 bp in the previous three sessions, helped the greenback recover and took a toll on stocks. Still, the S&P 500 is above the low set on November 30 (~3939) before Fed Chair Powell’s talk that day. Global equities were dragged lower today. Most large bourses in the Asia Pacific region fell, including Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and the index of mainland companies that trade in Hong Kong....

Overview: The markets remain hopeful about a re-opening in China and continue to pour into Chinese stocks on the mainland and in Hong Kong. The index of Chinese companies that trade in the US rose nearly 22.4% last week. Large bourses in the Asia Pacific region were mixed, but China and Hong Kong stand out. Europe’s Stoxx 600 is nursing a small loss for the second consecutive session. US equity futures have a slightly heavier bias. European 10-year yields are 2-5...

Overview:  There have been significant moves in the capital markets this week and participants are turning cautious ahead of the US employment report. After the US equity market rally stalled yesterday, nearly all the Asia Pacific bourses fell today. The strength of the yen (~3.8% this week) has weighed on Japanese equities (Nikkei -1.8% this week) and spurred the BOJ to buy ETFs today for the first time in five months. Europe’s Stoxx 600 is nursing a small loss as...

Overview: Surging Covid cases in China and Hong Kong are undermining hopes of a Covid-pivot and the US dollar is broadly higher. Equities are under pressure to start the week. Most of the large bourses in the Asia Pacific but Japan, fell earlier today. Europe’s Stoxx 600 is paring last week’s minor gain, which was the fifth consecutive weekly rise. US stock futures are lower, while the 10-year US Treasury yield is flat near 3.83%. European yields are mostly around...

Policymakers have often said that exchange rates should reflect fundamentals. What does that really mean? Can they do anything but that? It begs the question of which fundamental factors they should reflect. Therein lies the rub. We are still struck by the latest Bank for International Settlements figures. Their survey found that the average daily turnover in the foreign exchange market was $7.5 trillion a day. World trade last year was about $22.5 trillion. The...

There are three potential inflection points. The first is a pause from the Fed; if nothing else, Powell signaled it was too early to think about it. The second is for the Bank of Japan to change monetary policy. Governor Kuroda has signaled that it is not time. Conventional wisdom is there will not be a change until Kuroda's term ends next April. However, we note that the surveys suggest economists and BOJ inflation forecasts for next year have converged. The third...

Overview: Risk appetites have returned today. Bonds and stocks are advancing, while the dollar is better offered. Unsourced claims that Beijing has formed a committee to assess how to exit the zero-Covid policy sent Chinese shares sharply higher. An index of mainland companies list in Hong Kong jumped nearly 7% and closed up almost 5.5%. The Hang Seng surged 5.2%, while all the large markets in the region advanced. Europe’s Stoxx 600 recovered yesterday and is up...

Overview: The dollar has come back from the weekend bid. After the ECB and BOJ meetings last week, the focus has shifted back to the US where the FOMC meeting concludes in the middle of the week and the October employment report is out ahead of the weekend. Sterling and the yen are the weakest performers among the G10 currencies and are off 0.45%-0.50%. The Antipodeans are performing best and are straddling little changed levels. Emerging market currencies are lower,...