Mixed indications from the financial markets, with some indices rewarding further expansion of the Chinese shirts in the anti-Covid policy (this is the case in particular of Hong Kong where the mask obligations would be relaxed) and others which instead weigh more heavily due to the concern linked to a worsening of the general economic picture. If the US were to slow down as economists and investment bankers expect, this is the reasoning that even the operations rooms that follow oil do, it will be important to have a China able to run again, therefore free from the constraints imposed to contain the pandemic with the zero-Covid policy. With an eye on the incoming US unemployment benefits, as Unicredit analysts note, for now the optimism on the bond market has brought bond yields to mid-September levels: the US 10-year bond has seen the yield fall to 3 .42%, the Bund at 1.77%.
Apertura is looking for Europe
A cautious upward start for the European stock exchanges, which continue to be weighed down by fears of recession and expectations for the meetings of the ECB and the Fed scheduled for next week. A bit of optimism instead comes from the easing of the zero Covid measures in China. In detail, Frankfurt rose by 0.09%, London by 0.10%, Paris by 0.25% and Milan by 0.15%.
Gas leaps to 159 euros
Gas price opening leap on the TTF market in Amsterdam. The futures contract for January marks a gain of 6.5% to 159 euros per MWh.
Futures not moved, oil rises
Slightly positive performance for futures contracts on European stock exchanges in view of the forthcoming opening. The future on the Paris Cac 40 shows an increase of 0.15%, while on the Frankfurt Dax the gain is 0.02%. Change of +0.01% for the London FTSE 100. On the other hand, futures on Wall Street are weak.
In the meantime, it dates back to the Petroleum in trading on Asian markets after hitting a year-low on Wednesday. Brent futures mark an increase of 0.88% to 77.85 dollars a barrel, while WTI gains 0.93% to 72.67 dollars. The market is struggling to find a balance after the recent news of the contraction of US inventories which had contributed to accentuate the drop; concerns remain about demand, with traders fearing a contraction in the global economy.
Tokyo down (-0.4%), weak China, Hong Kong flies
Contrasted performance on Asian stock exchanges. Tokyo he ended the session down, with sales concentrated on the technology sector, following the correction of the Nasdaq stock market in the United States, while fears of an acceleration of monetary tightening by the US Federal Reserve strengthened. The reference index Nikkei lost 0.40%, to 27,574.43, leaving 111 points on the ground. On the foreign exchange market, the yen strengthened against the dollar, slightly below 137, and changed little against the euro at 143.80.
Bag of Hong Kong rallied in today’s session, with a clear rebound after the sharp loss posted on Wednesday. The Hang Seng index, which opened with +0.8%, is now up 3.02%. The increase was also triggered by what was reported in the local press, according to which the Hong Kong government is considering further easing of the restrictions against Covid. On the other hand, Chinese stock exchanges were down, with Shanghai on -0.10% and Shenzen which yields 0.40%.
Japan, GDP less worse than expected: -0.8% per annum in the third quarter
The Japanese economy contracted in the third quarter but less than initially expected. Indeed, according to the government’s second reading, GDP fell by 0.2% on the previous quarter, revised from the -0.3% of the previous estimate. Year-on-year, it contracted by 0.8% in the July-September period revised from the 1.2% decline in the first publication in mid-November. Private consumption increased by 0.1% compared to the previous quarter (revised by +0.3% and investments are confirmed to grow by 1.5 percent.