Oil price, Asian stocks and bond yields were trading marginally higher on Friday ending the week on positive mode. Japanese currency Yen continued to rise against US dollar and this also further aided Asian stocks.
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US labour market is gaining grounds helped by robust consumer spending, despite poor profits among corporate giants. The country added more than 200,000 jobs per month, with an average recruitment totalling to 213,000 new jobs a month in the past four years.
Stocks in the Asian market faced a steep decline for the second day following the drop in oil to less than $40 per barrel. In addition to the oil price drop, investors were curious about the US financial policy.
Hewlett Packard Enterprises (HPE) has beaten analysts' forecasts for the first quarter earnings. HPE has posted earnings per share (EPS) of 41 cents a share for first quarter as against the 40 cents per share of average forecast made by analysts. Hewlett Packard Enterprises is expected close Tsinghua deal by end of May as soon as it gets Chinese regulatory approval.
G-20 summit has been concluded with no major surprising outcome. Lack of strong commitments has helped Yen to gain some value against US dollar. However, on Monday, US dollar has regained some value. The appreciation has been analyzed as an outcome of positive US data which in turn is the consequence of Fed rate hiking.
According to Indra Nooyi, the ongoing global economic slowdown threatens economic recovery in the US. The oil market combined with political turmoil creates an economic pressure in the nation.
The weakening Rupee against the US dollar and downfall on financial markets are not exceptional. The Indian currency is doing well as it's strengthening against other global currencies. Indian markets tumbled on Thursday as key indices Sensex and Nifty fell over three percent led by banking stocks.
The US Dollar plunged to its worst single day drop outside of the 1998 and 2008 crisis today due to speculation regarding 'no rate hike' policy that the Federal Reserve might be implementing for this year. The plunged however, cause a reversal effect helping oil price to increase and help boosting Asian stocks.
The British Pound strengthened against major global currencies after a report on UK's GDP growth. The report said that UK's economy speeded up during the fourth quarter of 2015. The rise in consumer demand helped the economy expansion. The British Pound recovered from the two-week low of 1.4338 against the US dollar to at $1.4314.
After rising over three percent recently, Japanese Yen eased after the strong guidance on Yuan by China's central bank. The Greenback against Japanese currency fell to its lowest level since August 2015. Several emerging economies' currencies were reeling under pressure.
JPMorgan Chase & Co has alerted Japan Inc to gear up for the surge in Yen against the US dollar. JPMorgan Chase forecast Yen will reach 100 yen against a US dollar. However, it says the rally in currency may not sabotage the Japan industry.
The overnight gains on the Wall Street have boosted the market sentiment on Asian bourses ahead of the US Federal Reserve's meeting. The trading on Wednesday registered positive momentum in equities across the Asian markets.
After struggling a bitter civil war for four years, Syria's government imposes tax on shawarma, restaurants, and other businesses in everyday life as new revenue source.
Falling in line with the economists' forecast, the inflation rate in South Africa rose to 4.8 percent in November, registering its highest since July 2015. Consumer prices marginally rose 0.1 percent during the month. South Africa's currency Rand fell against US dollar, euro and pound. The currency depreciation is likely to be a major risk to the inflation outlook.
Asian stocks dropped on low trading volume as commodity producers followed fall in industrial metals and crude oil. Investors and institutions are in the wait and watch mode ahead of US Fed's meeting in December.
