Morning Update – 24/10/2017 – by Arjun Lakhanpal
October 24, 2017Morning all.. Wall St closed marginally lower in a very quiet session but the Nikkei had another solid session, closing up 0.4%. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbing for a record-breaking 16th consecutive session. US yields were off the highs made in Ny but held firmly at 2.37% through the Asian session. USDJPY was caught in a tight range after momentum stalled on the upside and prompted some profit taking in Asia. The euro remained under pressure as Catalan separatists planned their response to Spain Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s moves to stamp his authority on the region. The market’s focus on Thursday’s European Central Bank meeting is intensifying. The ECB is expected to offer more insight into its plans for tapering the QE program that is currently set to continue until the end of 2017. Metals on the LME advanced as the dollar came under pressure but it was a quiet night. While the market waits for more news on the Federal Reserve leadership succession and the U.S. budget, this week will also see decisions from the Bank of Canada, Norges Bank and Riksbank. President Donald Trump said Monday he’s “very, very close” to announcing his Fed chair nominee. The New Zealand dollar fell 0.5 percent to 69.32 U.S. cents. It spiked above 70 U.S. cents after new Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern outlined a planned increase to the minimum wage, only to wipe out those gains when she mentioned reviewing and reforming the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. On the data front in Japan; Japan Oct flash manufacturing PMI lower: 52.5 vs 52.9 prior. Geopolitical news; S Korea, Japan & US will hold a 2 day missile warning exercise starting today. This morning we get PMI data from France, Germany and the EU. Good luck.
