European Opening Session – 03/04/2017 – by Arjun Lakhanpal

In Asian Equity Markets Japanese stocks edged up on Monday morning after sharp losses last week, but an upbeat Bank Of Japan survey had only a modestly positive impact on risk appetite amid lingering worries about the outlook for exporters. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan rose 0.3 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.4 percent after hitting a seven-week low on Friday. The broader Topix added 0.3 percent to 1,516.42 and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 rose 0.3 percent to 13,560.20. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.25 percent. Financial markets in Shanghai are closed for a holiday.

In Currency Markets the dollar wobbled in Asian trading on Monday as some lackluster U.S. data and comments from Federal Reserve officials gave investors few catalysts to build on their U.S. currency exposure. The dollar stood at 111.34 yen on Monday, nearly flat on the day and below Friday’s 10-day peak of 112.19 yen. The euro added 0.2 percent to $1.0685 but remained not far above Friday’s low of $1.0649, its weakest since March 15. The dollar index edged up slightly to 100.400. The Aussie fell in Asia on Monday on mixed data sets that showed retail sales miss expectations, the manufacturing PMI ease, but home building figures rise. The Australian dollar traded at $0.7618, down 0.14 percent after the data.

In Commodities Markets oil futures fell on Monday as a higher U.S. rig count indicated rising shale output and stoked worries about global oversupply, while a stronger dollar also pressured prices. Brent futures fell 0.3 percent, to $53.38 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 0.2 percent, to $50.52 a barrel after settling 25 cents higher in the previous session. Both contracts posted their worst quarterly loss since late 2015 in the March quarter. Spot gold was mostly unchanged at $1,248.21 per ounce. In other precious metals, spot silver edged down 0.1 percent to $18.20. Platinum rose 1 percent to $954.40, while palladium was up 0.5 percent at $799.

In US Equity Markets stocks  fell on Friday, pulled down by Exxon and JPMorgan Chase as investors wrapped up a strong quarter and weighed whether corporate earnings reports will justify the market’s lofty valuations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.31 percent to end at 20,663.22 points, while the S&P 500  lost 0.23 percent to 2,362.72. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.04 percent to 5,911.74. Eight of the 11 major S&P sectors fell on Friday, with the financial index down 0.72 percent. JPMorgan Chase fell 1.34 percent and Wells Fargo & Co  lost 1.03 percent. FMC Corp  rallied 13.15 percent after it agreed to buy DuPont’s crop protection business and sell its health and nutrition unit to DuPont. DuPont fell 1.60 percent

In Bond Markets Japanese government bond prices were mostly steady on Monday following gains by U.S. Treasuries, although shorter-dated debt sagged with the Bank of Japan set to buy less of the maturities at its regular operations in April. The benchmark 10-year JGB yield was flat at 1.065 percent and the 30-year yield fell a basis point to 0.835 percent, supported by a regular debt-buying operation the BOJ conducted on Monday. The two-year yield in contrast rose 2 basis points to minus 0.175 percent, its highest since late December.

Economic Calendar

• 09:30 GMT+1 UK Manufacturing PMI
• 15:00 GMT+1 US ISM Manufacturing PMI