Asia Market News
In Asia stocks turned lower on Thursday and the yen rose after the Bank of Japan refrained from taking further stimulus steps, hours after the Federal Reserve’s own review had struck a cautious note on its policy outlook. Japan’s Nikkei was last down 2.6%, while the Shanghai Composite Index was 0.42% lower.
Currency Market News
The yen rose broadly after the Bank of Japan held off from expanding its monetary stimulus. USD/JPY traded at 104.14 yen, down 1.8% on the day. eur/jpy fell to 117.40 yen. The EUR/USD edged up 0.2% to $1.1281. Amid the focus on next week’s UK referendum, GBP/USD eased 0.3% to $1.4162.
Commodity Market News
Oil prices fell in early trading sessions following a lower than expected draw on U.S. stockpiles and amid worries Britain might leave the European Union. Front-month U.S. crude futures were down 1.2%, at $47.45 a barrel. The contract fell 1% the previous session, the fifth straight day of declines. Brent crude was 0.9% lower at $48.53 a barrel. Crude inventories fell by 933,000 barrels in the last week, the U.S. EIA reported, less than half the 2.3 million barrel decrease expected by analysts. Spot gold was up 0.7 percent at $1,300.20 an ounce
US Market News
In the US, stocks fell for a fifth straight session on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged and investors stewed over an impending vote in Britain on whether to leave the European Union. The S&P 500 fell 0.18% to 2,071.50. Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) fell 1.65% and provided the biggest drag on the S&P 500. The CBOE market volatility index fell 1.8% for the day but was still at elevated levels not seen in over three months.
Bond Market News
Japanese government bond yields edged away from record lows hit earlier in the session on Thursday, after the Bank of Japan decided not to expand its massive stimulus programme. The 10-year JGB yield added half a basis point to minus 0.190 percent, after plumbing a record low of minus 0.210 before the BOJ’s announcement. The 5-year yield added half a basis point to minus 0.290 percent after hitting a record low of minus 0.305 percent earlier. The 20-year yield was down 1.5 basis points at 0.125 percent, while the 30-year yield fell 1 basis point to 0.195 percent.
Economic Calendar
- 08:30 GMT+1 CHF Libor Rate
- 08:30 GMT+1 CHF SNB Monetary Policy Assessment
- 08:30 GMT+1 CHF SNB Press Conference
- 09:30 GMT+1 UK Retail Sales m/m
- 12:00 GMT+1 UK MPC Official Bank Rate Votes
- 12:00 GMT+1 UK Monetary Policy Summary
- 12:00 GMT+1 UK Official Bank Rate
- 13:30 GMT+1 US CPI m/m
- 13:30 GMT+1 US Philly Fed Manufacturing Index
- 13:30 GMT+1 US Unemployment Claims
- 21:00 GMT+1 UK BOE Gov Carney Speaks
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