Headlines:
- Heads up: US-China trade talks will begin tomorrow in Malaysia
- Trump's visit to Malaysia looks to be a twofold one
- The tug of war continues for gold in trading today
- Oil continues its resurgence this week, buoyed by US and EU sanctions against Russia
- SNB Minutes: Inflation is not expected to become persistently negative
- BoE's Dhingra: Expect US tariffs to put downward pressure on growth and prices
- Japan's largest union group Rengo seeks 5% wage hike for the coming fiscal year
- France October business confidence 97 vs 96 prior
- UK October CBI trends total orders -38 vs -27 prior
Markets:
- AUD leads, JPY lags on the day
- European equities mixed; S&P 500 futures down 0.2%
- US 10-year yields up 3.6 bps to 3.99%
- Gold up 0.4% to $4,112.55
- WTI crude oil up 3.7% to $61.56
- Bitcoin up 1.2% to $109,008
The session was a relatively quiet one though the market moves were fairly modest. There weren't any major headlines in Europe as markets continue to wait on US-China developments as well as the Fed meeting next week. Once again, we're starved of key US economic data so that isn't making for anything too exciting.
In FX, major currencies weren't up to much but the yen is seen weaker once again as the fallout from Takaichi's premiership victory continues to play out. USD/JPY ramped higher during the session, moving up from 152.20 to 152.60-70 levels and keeping thereabouts now.
Besides that, the dollar is trading steadier with just a slight advance against the European currencies but down against the antipodes. Overall, there's nothing to really shout about in the major currencies space.
As for equities, the mood music is fairly mixed. European indices are already showing a mixed performance with French stocks holding slight gains with the CAC 40 index near record highs while the DAX is down, keeping more tepid so far after the Monday slump. US futures are also lower, with yesterday's selling still keeping investors more cautious today.
In the commodities space, we are seeing precious metals bounce back with gold keeping just above $4,100 but still trying to find its footing after the heavy selling since the end of last week. Oil is the standout mover though, with prices buoyed after the EU joined the US in announcing more sanctions against Russia. And that's pushing up WTI crude by nearly 8% this week with price now climbing to $61.56 on the day - the highest in two weeks.
