Market talk: Nikkei Services PMI (Jan) increased from 52.3 to 52.8

ASIA

China and Russia have blocked the UN from condemning the ongoing military coup in Myanmar. The UN statement sought to “condemn the military coup” and call on the military to “immediately release those unlawfully detained,” according to a draft seen by Politico.

Wider fiscal deficits and a more gradual pace of consolidation will lift the Indian government’s debt and pressure its sovereign ratings, Fitch Ratings said, cautioning that the fiscal firepower is limited due to a high debt ratio. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the current year fiscal deficit will touch 9.5% of GDP, much higher than the budgeted 3.5% and sharply above analyst estimates of around 7%. The government has also projected a deficit of 6.5% for the next fiscal year starting April and said it would reach 4.5% only by fiscal 2025/26.

The major Asian stock markets had a mixed day today

• NIKKEI 225 increased 284.33 points or 1.00% to 28,646.50.

• Shanghai decreased 16.38 points or -0.46% to 3,517.31.

• Hang Seng increased 58.76 points or 0.20% to 29,307.46.

• ASX 200 increased 62.00 points or 0.92% to 6,824.60.

• Kospi increased 32.87 points or 1.06% to 3,129.68.

• SENSEX increased 458.03 points or 0.92% to 50,255.75.

• Nifty50 increased 142.10 points or 0.97% to 14,789.95.

The major Asian currency markets had a mixed day today

• AUDUSD increased 0.00109 or 0.14% to 0.76230.

• NZDUSD increased 0.00017 or 0.02% to 0.72059.

• USDJPY decreased 0.01 or -0.01% to 105.03.

• USDCNY increased 0.00065 or 0.01% to 6.45839.

Precious Metals

• Gold decreased 3.51 USD/t oz. or -0.19% to 1,833.84.

• Silver increased 0.239 USD/t. oz or 0.90% to 26.851.

Some economic news from last night

China:

Caixin Services PMI (Jan) decreased from 56.3 to 52.0.

Japan：

Services PMI (Jan) decreased from 47.7 to 46.1.

Hong Kong:

Manufacturing PMI (Jan) increased from 43.5 to 47.8.

Australia:

Building Approvals (MoM) (Dec) increased from 3.3% to 10.9%.

Private House Approvals (Dec) increased from 6.1% to 15.8%.

AIG Construction Index (Dec) increased from 55.3 to 57.6.

Services PMI decreased from 57.0 to 55.6.

New Zealand:

ANZ Commodity Price Index (MoM) increased from 1.8% to 3.6%.

Employment Change (QoQ) (Q4) increased from -0.8% to 0.6%.

Labor Cost Index (YoY) (Q4) decreased from 1.6% to 1.5%.

Labor Cost Index (QoQ) (Q4) increased from 0.4% to 0.5%.

Participation Rate (Q4) increased from 70.10% to 70.20%.

Unemployment Rate (Q4)decreased from 5.3% to 4.9%.

Some economic news from today

India:

Nikkei Services PMI (Jan) increased from 52.3 to 52.8.

EUROPE/EMEA

Britain has asked for an extension until 2023 of grace periods on checks that would be conducted on trade moving between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom to soften the Brexit impact on the province, the BBC reported. As part of the Brexit divorce deal, the two sides agreed a three-month grace period on checks on food goods being moved by supermarkets and some wholesale groups from Britain to Northern Ireland, to ease the impact of the post-Brexit new rules.

The major Europe stock markets had a mixed day

• CAC 40 decreased 0.06 points or -0.00% to 5,563.05.

• FTSE 100 decreased 8.83 points or -0.14% to 6,507.82.

• DAX 30 increased 98.47 points or 0.71% to 13,933.63.

The major Europe currency markets had a mixed day today

• EURUSD decreased 0.00062 or -0.05% to 1.20356.

• GBPUSD decreased 0.00228 or -0.17% to 1.36409.

• USDCHF increased 0.00119 or 0.13% to 0.89889.

Some economic news from Europe today

France:

French Government Budget Balance (Dec) decreased from -176.9B to -178.1B.

French Markit Composite PMI (Jan) increased from 47.0 to 47.7.

French Services PMI (Jan) increased from 46.5 to 47.3.

Spain:

Spanish Services PMI (Jan) decreased from 48.0 to 41.7.

Italy:

Italian Composite PMI (Jan) increased from 43.0 to 47.2.

Italian Services PMI (Jan) increased from 39.7 to 44.7.

Italian CPI (MoM) (Jan) increased from 0.2% to 0.5%.

Italian CPI (YoY) (Jan) increased from -0.2% to 0.2%.

Italian HICP (YoY) (Jan) increased from -0.3% to 0.5%.

Italian HICP (MoM) (Jan) decreased from 0.2% to -1.1%.

Germany:

German Composite PMI (Jan) remain the same at 50.8.

German Services PMI (Jan) decreased from 46.8 to 46.7.

Norway：

House Price Index (YoY) (Jan) decreased from 8.70% to 8.60%.

Euro Zone:

Markit Composite PMI (Jan) increased from 47.5 to 47.8.

Services PMI (Jan) increased from 45.0 to 45.4.

Core CPI (YoY) (Jan) increased from 0.2% to 1.4%.

CPI (YoY) (Jan) increased from -0.3% to 0.9%.

CPI, n.s.a (Jan) increased from 105.15 to 105.32.

HICP ex Energy & Food (YoY) (Jan) increased from 0.4% to 1.4%.

PPI (YoY) (Dec) increased from -1.9% to -1.1%.

PPI (MoM) (Dec) increased from 0.4% to 0.8%.

UK:

Composite PMI (Jan) increased from 40.6 to 41.2.

Services PMI (Jan) increased from 38.8 to 39.5.

US/AMERICAS

Amazon is set to have a new CEO this Q3 after founder Jeff Bezos announced that he will step down. The news comes just as Amazon announced a $100 billion Q1. Andy Jassy, who has been with the company since 1997, will take the reins and Bezos will remain in an executive chairman role. The company is now worth over $1.6 trillion after it began as a small garage start-up in 1994 with an initial intention of being a bookstore. Amazon has since become the leader in online retail and has branched into other areas such as Amazon’s Web Services (AWS) that brings in a large portion of the company’s profits. “As Exec Chair I will stay engaged in important Amazon initiatives but also have the time and energy I need to focus on the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and my other passions,” Bezos wrote in a note, also adding that he believes Amazon’s success will continue to grow.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is calling upon the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to possibly restrict trading regulations after the recent GameStop frenzy. Yellen, the SEC, heads of the Federal Reserve, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission will deliberate this week to whether the volatility in the markets has been fair, and whether it is permissible to limit trading.

According to the Options Clearing Corporation, US stock options spiked 70%, a record high, in January. The surge was largely promoted by retail traders using call options and targeting specific stocks as there was a -12.4% decline in index options in January.

US Market Closings

Dow advanced 36.12 points or 0.12% to 30,723.6.

S&P 500 advanced 3.86 points or 0.1% to 3,830.17.

Nasdaq declined 2.23 points or -0.02% to 13,610.54.

Russell 2000 advanced 8.26 points or 0.38% to 2,159.7.

Canada Market Closings

TSX Composite advanced 41.42 points or 0.23% to 17,915.91.

TSX 60 advanced 1.5 points or 0.14% to 1,060.75.

Brazil Market Closing

Bovespa advanced 1,490.91 points or 1.26% to 119,724.72.

ENERGY

The oil markets had a mixed day today:

• Crude Oil increased 1.03 USD/BBL or 1.88% to 55.7900.

• Brent increased 1.06 USD/BBL or 1.84% to 58.5200.

• Natural gas decreased 0.068 USD/MMBtu or -2.39% to 2.7770.

• Gasoline increased 0.0348 USD/GAL or 2.15% to 1.6508.

• Heating oil increased 0.01 USD/GAL or 0.88% to 1.6894.

• Top commodity gainers: Gasoline (2.15%), Lumber (3.10%), Zinc (2.38%) and Lithium (4.80%).

• Top commodity losers: Coal (-2.94%), Cocoa (-2.77%), Cheese (-2.90%), and Natural Gas (-2.39%).

The above data was collected around 16:27 EST on Wednesday.

BONDS

Japan 0.07%(+1bp), US 2’s 0.00%(+0.00%), US 10’s 1.14%(+3bps); US 30’s 2.00%(+0.05%), Bunds -0.47% (+4bp), France -0.22% (+1bp), Italy 0.58% (-7bp), Turkey 12.66% (+3bp), Greece 0.64% (-4bp), Portugal 0.06% (+0bp); Spain 0.14% (+2bp) and UK Gilts 0.38% (+3bp).

• UK 10-Year Treasury Gilt Auction increased from 0.332% to 0.441%.