Morning Update – 08/12/2017 – by Arjun Lakhanpal

Morning all.. Talk of Trump pushing for an infrastructure spending bill and a vote to raise the debt ceiling sent US stocks a little higher with the S&P closing up 0.3% and the NASDAQ up over 0.5%. Asia markets pushed higher with the Nikkei up 1.4% as Japanese data showed a rise in wages and a solid show in GDP data. Japan final Q3 GDP revised higher: +0.6% q/q (vs +0.3% prelim, +0.4% cons) & +2.5% y/y (vs +1.4% prelim, +1.5% cons); largest gains in capex (+1.1% prev +0.2% prelim), buoyant exports (added +0.5pp to growth)-Japan Oct Infl-Adj Real Wages +0.2% y/y, first rise since Dec 2016.. US yields rallied and took the US Dollar higher. The dollar is poised for a solid weekly advance after U.S. tax-cut legislation made progress in Congress, and ahead of employment data expected to show continued robust hiring. The rally in Nikkei saw USDJPY regain some composure and broke back above 113.00 making a high of 113.50. The pound advanced on hopes last-minute talks will result in a deal on the Irish border that will allow Brexit negotiations to move on. Gold was steady after extending this week’s slide to a four-month low. Investors will be watching as British Prime Minister Theresa May and EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker meet this morning in Brussels, followed by a press conference. This morning we get French and UK Industrial Production, UK trade data and construction output. The main even though is the US Non-farm payrolls and earnings data later. Good luck.