Friday, 1 September 2017

Asian stocks move higher; NFP in focus

Posted by Valentine at 10:08 Labels:

Asian markets were trading higher in early hours on Friday as market players shifted their attention to the upcoming nonfarm payrolls in the United States to assess expectations for a Federal Reserve monetary adjustment later in 2017.

Australia ASX +11.00 +0.19% 5,787.30 05:10 GMT - OPEN

Shanghai Composite Index +19.13 +0.57% 3,379.94 05:10 GMT - OPEN

Hang Seng Index +87.21 +0.31% 28,057.51 05:10 GMT - OPEN

Nikkei 225 +7.83 +0.04% 19,654.07 05:10 GMT - OPEN

TSEC 50 Index +20.29 +0.19% 10,606.07 05:10 GMT - OPEN

Asian benchmarks ended mixed on Thursday, as risk appetite improved and traders digested manufacturing and services sectors activity indexes from China.

Japan's Nikkei 225 closed 0.72 percent higher to 19,646.24, with tech companies and automakers leading gains in the light of a stronger dollar. The South Korean Kospi index fell 0.38 percent to 2,363.19

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 benefited from a solid performance of financials, pushing it 0.79 percent to the upside to finish at 5,714.5. Hong Kong Hang Seng index came under pressure due to falling bank stocks in China, leaving it nearly half a percent down.

China's Shanghai Composite was down 0.08 percent at 3,360.9959 by the closing bell, while the Shenzhen Composite rose 0.311 percent to 1,944.9391.

Economic news in Asia failed to increase confidence among investors, with Japan’s industrial production dropping 0.8 percent in July, and China’s manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMIs moving to 51.3 and 53.4 respectively, both falling below forecasts.

However, upbeat data in the US provided the dollar with enough buyers to support its upward correction. The US dollar index, which gauges the greenback against six major rivals, was trading at 92.66 by the time of this writing, adding 0.03 percent.

In economic news, the core PCE price index rose 1.4 percent in July, which was the weakest year-over-year advance since December 2015.

In a separate report, the US Commerce Department said personal spending rose by 0.3 percent in July, a tick below analysts’ expectations but above a previous reading of 0.2 percent. Pending home sales dropped 0.8 percent in July against an initially forecasted 0.5 percent increase.

The US Labor Department said the number of people claiming for unemployment benefits increased by 1,000 from a previous week 235,000, but below an expected 237,000.

Key economic events for Friday, 1 September 2017:

01:45 GMT Caixin Manufacturing PMI (Aug) Actual: 51.6

07:55 GMT German Manufacturing PMI (Aug) Forecast: 59.4

08:00 GMT EU Manufacturing PMI (Aug) Forecast: 57.4

08:30 GMT UK Manufacturing PMI (Aug) Forecast: 55.0

12:30 GMT US Average Hourly Earnings (MoM) (Aug) Forecast: 0.2%

12:30 GMT US Nonfarm Payrolls (Aug) Forecast: 180K

12:30 GMT US Private Nonfarm Payrolls (Aug) Forecast: 179K

12:30 GMT US Unemployment Rate (Aug) Forecast: 4.3%

13:45 GMT US Manufacturing PMI (Aug) Forecast: 52.5

14:00 GMT US ISM Manufacturing Employment (Aug) Forecast: 54.0

14:00 GMT US ISM Manufacturing PMI (Aug) Forecast: 56.5

14:00 GMT US Michigan Consumer Expectations (Aug) Forecast: 88.3

14:00 GMT US Michigan Consumer Sentiment (Aug) Forecast: 97.4

17:00 GMT US Baker Hughes Oil Rig Count Previous: 759

Fort Financial Services

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