Markets

The Morning Wrap

  • The session in the Asia-Pacific region is unfolding in moderately positive sentiment. Indices from China are gaining between 0.30-0.40%. The Japanese Nikkei 225 index is rising by 0.21% to 38,300 points, while contracts on the SG20cash index in Singapore are up by 0.30%. The only losing index is the Australian AU200.cash, which is trading lower by 0.40%.
  • In the forex market, changes in the first part of the day are limited. The only currency standing out in terms of volatility is the Japanese yen, which is losing between 0.4-0.5%. The weakness of the Japanese currency results from the diminishing effectiveness of continuous verbal interventions by Japanese officials and diplomats. The dollar is slightly rebounding by 0.13%, with USDJPY gaining 0.46% today to 155.3000.
  • The People’s Bank of China is leaving interest rates unchanged, as expected. The one-year Loan Prime Rate (LPR) in China remains at 3.1%, unchanged from the previous month. The five-year LPR also remains steady at 3.6%.
  • Japan’s trade balance report for October exceeded expectations, though the deficit decreased slightly more than anticipated. Total exports in October rose by 3.1% compared to the previous year (-1.7% in September; expectations 2.2%). Meanwhile, imports increased by 0.4% year-on-year (1.8% in September; expectations -0.3%). The trade deficit amounted to 461.2 billion yen (2.98 billion USD), compared to a forecast of 360.4 billion yen.
  • Exports to China (+1.5%), Taiwan (+18.8%) and Hong Kong (+12.2%) led the recovery due to strong demand for chip-making equipment, while exports to the United States, Japan’s largest export destination, fell by 6.2% due to weak car shipments.
  • Japanese companies are trying to assess the impact of new and potentially high tariffs promised by the new U.S. President Donald Trump, which could weaken international trade.
  • Oil remains mostly unchanged in the first part of the day, with OIL.WTI gaining 0.04% to $69.30 per barrel.
  • The precious metals market is experiencing a slight decline. Gold is down 0.06% to $2,630 per ounce, silver is trading 0.60% lower to $31, palladium is losing 0.77%, and platinum is down 0.20%.
  • In the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin’s dominance continues. In the first part of the day, BTC is up 0.25% to $92,650. Despite slight profit-taking at the end of the day, yesterday’s session closed at a new all-time high of approximately $92,600.
  • Bitcoin’s dominance has been evident in recent days, with Ethereum performing much weaker. Today, ETH is trading without major changes at $3,110, while the total market capitalization of the remaining altcoins is down by 0.20%.

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