Asia Market News
In Asia stocks fell on Tuesday ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting that begins later in the day, amid growing worries this month’s referendum in Britain could see it exit the European Union. Japan’s Nikkei stock index fell 1.5% after falling 3.5% on Monday. The Shanghai Composite was down 0.02%.
Currency Market News
Worries over the EU referendum and the potential effect of Brexit have pressured GBP/USD falling 0.6% to $1.4185, edging back in the direction of a two-month low of $1.4117 that had been set on Monday. Against the yen, GBP/JPY fell 0.8% to 150.34 yen. The USD/JPY was down 0.2% at 105.99 yen. The EUR/USD held at $1.1291.
Commodity Market News
Crude oil futures fell in Asian trade, as investors ignored signs of market tightness to focus on concerns over global growth and overnight declines in stocks on the impending vote on Britain’s possible European Union exit. Brent crude oil futures fell below $50 a barrel, falling 44 cents to $49.91. U.S. crude was down nearly 1%, at $48.41 a barrel.
US Market News
In US, stocks fell for a third straight session on Monday as tech giants Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Apple dragged on indexes and investors braced for major economic and political events in the United States and Europe. The S&P 500 lost 0.81%, to 2,079.06. Microsoft fell 2.6% after announcing it would buy online networking company LinkedIn (NYSE:LNKD) for $26.2 billion in its biggest-ever deal. LinkedIn shares rose 46.6%. Apple shares (NASDAQ:AAPL) fell 1.5% as the iPhone maker held its developers conference in San Francisco. Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) shares lost 2.3% after CNBC said Citron Research was shorting the stock.
Bond Market News
In Bond Markets Japanese and Australian yields tumbled to all-time lows Tuesday, extending a record-setting global bond rally. The benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond yield fell to as low as minus-0.175 percent, a fresh record, before edging back to minus-0.170 percent. Australia’s 10-year yield fell to 2.05 percent. Benchmark 10-year Treasuries were little changed following a five-day gain, with the yield at 1.62 percent.
Economic Calendar
- 13:30 GMT+1 US Core Retail Sales m/m
- 13:30 GMT+1 US Retail Sales m/m
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