News & Research

22 February 2017

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Currency Markets the dollar edged down in Asian trading on Wednesday as investors awaited the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest meeting for clues as to the pace of interest rate hikes, while the euro nursed losses and remained pressured by European political woes. The dollar was 0.1 percent lower at 113.56 yen, edging away from its peak of 114.955 yen touched a week ago, which was its highest since late January. The euro inched up 0.1 percent to $1.0549 after losing more than 0.7 percent the previous day. The Australian dollar climbed 0.3 percent to $0.7696. The dollar index was last down slightly at 101.35 after hitting a six-day high of 101.600 overnight.

Commodities Markets oil prices held near multi-week highs on Wednesday after OPEC signaled optimism over its deal with other producers to curb output to clear a glut that has weighed on markets since 2014. The U.S. West Texas Intermediate April crude contract was up 18 cents at $54.51 a barrel. Brent crude was up 24 cents at $56.90.  Gold held firm on Wednesday after falling as much as 1 percent the session before, with investors waiting for minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest meeting for clues on the timing of interest rate hikes. Spot gold was steady at $1,236 per ounce, while spot silver was firm at $17.97 an ounce. Platinum rose 0.3 percent to $1,001.80, while palladium rose 0.3 percent to $781.47.

US Equity Markets  stocks rose to fresh record highs on Tuesday, boosted by strong earnings reports from Wal-Mart and Home Depot and continued optimism about the economic agenda of President Donald Trump. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.58 percent, to 20,743, the S&P 500 gained 0.60 percent, to 2,365.38 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.47 percent, to 5,865.95. Wal-Mart's  shares rose 3 percent after the world's large st retailer reported higher-than-expected U.S. sales. Home Depot shares gained 1.4 percent after the home improvement retailer reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit and sales, boosted by a strong U.S. housing market.

  Bond Markets Japanese government bonds firmed on Wednesday after the Bank of Japan made purchase offers under its JGB buying operations that were in line with amounts of previous operations. The 2-year JGB yield fell 2.5 basis points (bp) to minus 0.270 percent, its lowest level since November. The benchmark 10-year JGB yield inched down 0.5 bp to 0.085 percent, while 10-year JGB futures were up 0.21 point at 150.17 in afternoon trade. Superlong JGBs also gained, with the 20-year yield falling 1.5 bp to 0.690 percent and the 30-year JGB yield also shedding 1.5 bp to 0.900 percent.

Asian Equity Markets Japanese stocks edged down on Wednesday morning in choppy trade as a pause in the dollar's rise against the yen kept investors on the sidelines as they awaited the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest meeting for clues for interest rate hikes. The Nikkei fell 0.2 percent at 19,345.31 in midmorning trade after staying nearly flat. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan rose 0.5 percent, taking its cues from the world stock index rising to an all-time peak of 446.21 overnight. South Korea's Kospi added 0.1 percent, Shanghai climbed 0.2 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.7 percent.