Asian Markets Down on Economic Data and Bond Moves

Asia-Pacific markets are down amid Japan’s economic data and China’s bond market moves; the Nikkei, Hang Seng, and ASX all see losses as global markets react.

Global Markets Update

Asian Stock Markets:

• Nikkei: down 0.84%
• Shanghai Composite: down 0.44%
• Hang Seng: down 0.71%
• ASX: down 0.4%

Commodities:

• Gold: $2,696.35 (+0.26%)
• Silver: $31.14 (+0.48%)
• Brent Oil: $77.29 (+0.46%)
• WTI Oil: $74.36 (+0.51%)

Rates:

• US 10-year yield: 4.698%
• UK 10-year yield: 4.806%
• Germany 10-year yield: 2.531%

Asian Markets Down on Economic Data and Bond Moves

Markets Update

Asia-Pacific markets mostly down on Friday as investors analyzed Japan’s November economic data. Real household spending in Japan dropped 0.4% year-on-year, a smaller decline than the 0.6% predicted by a Reuters poll and an improvement from October’s 1.3% decrease. Meanwhile, the average real income per household rose 0.7% to 514,409 yen ($3,252.98) in November.

According to Reuters, the People’s Bank of China temporarily suspended treasury bond purchases due to supply shortages in China. The PBOC stated that purchases would resume based on supply-demand dynamics in the government bond market. Following this announcement, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 0.47%, reversing earlier gains, while mainland China’s CSI 300 fell 0.46%.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 led regional losses, declining 1.02%, with the Topix losing 0.68%. Fast Retailing shares plunged 7.83% despite reporting strong first-quarter results. South Korea’s Kospi edged slightly lower, while the Kosdaq dropped 0.82%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 also fell 0.52% after trading in positive territory initially.

In the US, markets remained closed Thursday for former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral. Traders now await December’s nonfarm payroll data, which is expected to show a gain of 155,000 jobs, down from November’s surprising 227,000 increase but consistent with recent averages. The unemployment rate is forecasted to remain steady at 4.2%.

Upcoming Events:

• 01:30 PM GMT – CAD Employment Change
• 01:30 PM GMT – CAD Unemployment Rate
• 01:30 PM GMT – USD Average Hourly Earnings m/m
• 01:30 PM GMT – USD Nonfarm Employment Change
• 01:30 PM GMT – USD Unemployment Rate

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