ICMarket

Monday 8th July 2024: Asian Markets Open Mixed as Investors Await Key Economic Data

Global Markets:

  •  Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 0.06%, Shanghai Composite down 0.97%, Hang Seng down 2.02% ASX down 0.76%
  • Commodities : Gold at $2390.5 (-0.27%), Silver at $31.28 (-1.34%), Brent Oil at $86.13 (-0.40%), WTI Oil at $82.71 (-0.57%)
  • Rates : US 10-year yield at 4.281, UK 10-year yield at 4.172, Germany 10-year yield at 2.536

News & Data:

  • (CAD) Employment Change  -1.4K vs 27.3K expected
  • (CAD) Unemployment Rate  6.4% vs 6.3% expected
  • (USD) Average Hourly Earnings m/mI  0.3% vs 0.3% expected
  • (USD) Non-Farm Employment Change  206K vs 191K expected
  • (USD) Unemployment Rate  4.1% vs 4.0% expected

Markets Update:

Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed on Monday as investors awaited key economic data from the U.S. and China later in the week. France’s left-wing New Popular Front coalition unexpectedly blocked a far-right advance in the parliamentary run-off vote, securing the most seats but falling short of an absolute majority. Investors look forward to the U.S. consumer price index reading on Thursday to gauge the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decisions, while China’s inflation figures on Wednesday will provide insights into the country’s economic recovery. Central bank decisions from South Korea, New Zealand, and Malaysia are also expected this week, with no changes anticipated.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 was slightly down, while the broad-based Topix fell 0.36% as Japan’s real wages declined for the 26th consecutive month. Data showed real wages in Japan decreased by 1.4% year-on-year in May, despite nominal wages increasing by 1.9% to 297,151 yen ($1,850). South Korea’s Kospi was nearly flat, while the small-cap Kosdaq rose by 0.86%. Shares of Samsung Electronics went up by 0.46%, even though the company’s largest union began a three-day strike on Monday.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped by 2%, and mainland China’s CSI300 fell by 0.3%, marking its fifth consecutive day of losses. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined by 0.76%. Meanwhile, in the U.S. on Friday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite reached new highs, with both indexes closing at record levels as the latest jobs report sparked hopes for rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. The broad market index increased by 0.54%, closing at 5,567.19, while the Nasdaq rose by 0.90% to 18,352.76. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also saw a modest gain of 0.17%.

Upcoming Events: 

  • 12:30 PM GMT – CAD Manufacturing Sales m/m
  • 12:30 PM GMT – CAD Wholesale Sales m/m
  • 12:30 PM GMT – USD Empire State Manufacturing Index