Market Talk – September 19, 2023

ASIA:

China’s central bank and forex regulator held a meeting with foreign financial institutions and companies, including JPMorgan, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, and Tesla. This meeting reflects China’s efforts to attract overseas investment to support its economic recovery. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) stated that China aims to enhance its policies and create a more market-oriented and internationally attractive business environment. Notably, foreign direct investment in China declined by 5.1% year-on-year to 847.2 billion yuan ($116 billion) in the first eight months of 2023, according to the commerce ministry.

The major Asian stock markets had a mixed day today:

• NIKKEI 225 decreased 290.50 points or -0.87% to 33,242.59
• Shanghai decreased 0.98 points or -0.03% to 3,124.96
• Hang Seng increased 66.62 points or 0.37% to 17,997.17
• ASX 200 decreased 33.80 points or -0.47% to 7,196.60
• Kospi decreased 15.51 points or -0.60% to 2,559.21
• SENSEX closed
• Nifty50 closed

The major Asian currency markets had a green day today:

• AUDUSD increased 0.0023 or 0.36% to 0.64570
• NZDUSD increased 0.00125 or 0.21% to 0.59295
• USDJPY increased 0.289 or 0.20% to 147.889
• USDCNY increased 0.01204 or 0.17% to 7.30396

The above data was collected around 14.28 EST

Precious Metals:

Gold decreased 2.58 USD/t oz. or -0.13% to 1,930.56

Silver decreased 0.040 USD/t. oz or -0.17%% to 23.190

The above data was collected around 14.29  EST

No economic news from last night:

No economic news from today:

EUROPE/EMEA:

The British banking sector is experiencing an increase in impairments due to rising inflation and the resulting interest rate hikes, as stated by Bank of England Deputy Governor Sam Woods. The central bank has raised its main interest rate from 0.1% to 5.25%, with expectations of another increase to 5.5% this week in an effort to control inflation. While the economy has shown resilience, regulators, including Woods, are closely monitoring potential challenges in the banking industry. The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) estimates that just over 1% of mortgages are in arrears, a figure that was equally high in 2018 and was 3.6% during the financial crisis.

The major Europe stock markets had a mixed day today:

• CAC 40 increased 5.98 points or 0.08% to 7,282.12
• FTSE 100 increased 7.26 points, or 0.09% to 7,660.20
• DAX 30 decreased 62.64 points or -0.40% to 15,664.48

The major Europe currency markets had a mixed day today:

• EURUSD decreased 0.00097 or -0.09% to 1.06803
• GBPUSD increased 0.00082 or 0.07% to 1.23902
• USDCHF increased 0.00128 or 0.14% to 0.89818

The above data was collected around 14.33 EST

Some economic news from Europe today:

Core CPI (YoY) (Aug) decreased from 5.5% to 5.3%

CPI (MoM) (Aug) increased from -0.1% to 0.5%

CPI (YoY) (Aug) decreased from 5.3% to 5.2%

US/AMERICAS:

Instacart, the grocery delivery company, has gone public on the Nasdaq, with its shares trading under the ticker symbol “CART”. The company’s IPO price was set at $30 per share, valuing the company at about $10 billion. However, the shares opened at $42, and the company’s fully diluted valuation is now around $14 billion. This is the first notable venture-backed tech company to go public in the US since December 2021. The company delivers groceries from chains such as Kroger, Costco, and Wegmans.

US Market Closings:

• Dow declined 106.57 points or -0.31% to 34,517.73
• S&P 500 declined 9.58 points or -0.22% to 4,443.95
• Nasdaq declined 32.05 points or -0.23% to 13,678.19
• Russell 2000 declined 7.77 points or -0.42% to 1,826.53

Canada Market Closings:

• TSX Composite declined 273.94 points or -1.34% to 20,218.89
• TSX 60 declined 16.14 points or -1.31% to 1,213.46

Brazil Market Closing:

• Bovespa declined 442.43 points or -0.37% to 117,845.78

ENERGY:

The oil markets had a mixed day today:

• Crude Oil decreased 0.512 USD/BBL or -0.56% to 90.968
• Brent decreased 0.302 USD/BBL or -0.32% to 94.128
• Natural gas increased 0.1109 USD/MMBtu or 4.07% to 2.8389
• Gasoline decreased 0.0414 USD/GAL or -1.53% to 2.6565
• Heating oil increased 0.0835 USD/GAL or 2.54% to 3.3718

The above data was collected around 14:35 EST on Tuesday.

Top commodity gainers: Heating Oil (2.54%), Natural Gas (4.07%), Methanol (2.57%), and Coffee (5.55%)

Top commodity losers: Wheat (-1.38%), Zinc (-2.07%), Oat (-3.83%), and Gasoline (-1.53%)

The above data was collected around 14:40 EST on Tuesday.

BONDS:

Japan 0.721%(+0.4bp), US 2’s 5.10% (+0.033%), US 10’s 4.3566%(+5.4bps); US 30’s 4.42% (+0.024%), Bunds 2.747% (+3bp), France 3.289% (+3bp), Italy 4.555% (+3.3bp), Turkey 23.77% (+0bp), Greece 4.157% (-2.5bp), Portugal 3.473% (+1.4bp), Spain 3.81% (+2.2bp) and UK Gilts 4.343% (-4.8bp).

The above data was collected around 14:43 EST on Tuesday.