Activity In The Earlier Asian

Sunrise Market Commentary - Fixed Income: Global core bonds take a breather - Investors remained mostly sidelined in an uneventful session on Friday. The G-8 meeting stressed the need for growth, besides fiscal consolidation and sees Greece staying inside EMU. This shouldn’t surprise markets today. With a razor thin calendar, trading might start the week in a lackluster mode. - Currencies: Euro succeeds short squeeze - On Friday, the decline of the euro halted and EUR/USD succeeded a cautious rebound, even as uncertainty on the EMU debt crisis persisted. Technical considerations will also dominate trading today as the G8 meeting provided no high profile measures to address the debt crisis. The Sunrise Headlines - US Equities rose for a second consecutive session on ...

Sunrise Market Commentary - Fixed Income: new contract highs - London-traders returned and the market seemed to react with a lag to this weekend's election results. In a risk off session, both the German Bund Future and the US Note Future set new contract highs, respectively at 142.62 and 133-04. - Currencies EUR/USD testing key support - On Tuesday, sentiment on the euro remained fragile even as there was little news from the political scene in France or Greece. EUR/USD is again testing the key 1.2974/55 support area. A break below this level would be highly significant from a technical point of view. The Sunrise Headlines - US Equities dropped sharply lower yesterday, but reversed most of their losses in the final hours of trading. The S&P ended the session 0.43% lower. ...

Sunrise Market Commentary - Fixed Income Weak US payrolls push core bonds higher again - On Friday, it was weaker US payrolls that helped core bonds eke out more gains, but non-core bonds held up quite well. Spreads even narrowed in the intra-EMU bond markets. We fear that this won't be the case today, as French and Greek election results inject uncertainty into markets. - Currencies: Euro testing key support levels - On Friday, trading in the major euro cross rate was rather calm, but the pressure remained to the downside. The US payrolls were unable to change this pattern. This morning, EUR/USD is testing the key 1.2974 support while EUR/GBP is trading south of the 0.8068 level. A sustained break below these levels would raise a red alert for the single currency. The ...

Sunrise Market Commentary - Fixed Income ECB can't move global bonds - Global core bonds ended the session unchanged, as initial disappointment that the ECB wasn't more dovish dissipated fast. Today's payrolls are key and might decide whether the 6-week rally is over or has one more leg. Currencies: Major currency cross rates little changed ahead of the payrolls - EUR/USD gained temporarily during the ECB press conference as Draghi was less dovish than some in the market had expected. However, the move was technically insignificant as sentiment on risk remained fragile. Today, the payrolls are the key factor for (currency) trading. Investors might stay cautions on the euro to avoid this weekend's political event risk. The Sunrise Headlines - US Equities dropped for a ...

(Reuters) - Brent crude was steady above $119 a barrel on Wednesday, supported by positive manufacturing data from the United States and China that lifted hopes of higher oil demand at the world's top two energy consumers. U.S. manufacturing growth in April hit its highest level in 10 months, while China's factory sector also expanded last month, government data showed on Tuesday. A private-sector survey geared towards smaller Chinese firms also showed that manufacturing activity improved in April, but remained below the threshold of 50 that divides expansion from contraction. "The economic data is supporting oil prices, but there will be anxiety ahead of the U.S. jobs report on Friday, so I don't expect any big volatility for the rest of the week," said Gordon Kwan, head of energy ...

(Reuters) - Copper dipped on Tuesday as brisk manufacturing data in top metal consumer China and a softer dollar failed to offset concerns about the fragile U.S. economy and the euro zone crisis. Trading was thin with most Asian markets shut for the May Day holiday, including China and parts of Europe, limiting the market impact of data showing a sustained expansion in China's factory sector. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.1 percent at $8,391 a tonne by 1058 GMT, after hitting a session high of $8,450. It closed at $8,400 on Monday. China's official purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to a 13-month high of 53.3 in April, signaling the world's No. 2 economy may be recovering from a first-quarter trough. (nL4E8G10UO) "I'm not sure there was enough in it to ...

Sunrise Market Commentary - Fixed Income: Small changes after volatile trading - Core bonds traded volatile due to economic data and bond auctions. The Fed had the final saying. The FOMC statement showed that the Fed was slightly more optimistic on growth and the governors more hawkish in their rate forecasts. However, policy remains unchanged and Bernanke kept the door for more QE open. - Currencies: Fed doesn't help the dollar - On Wednesday, trading in most major currency cross rates was confined to recent ranges. EUR/USD is holding near the recent highs. The Fed kept a soft tone and this was a slightly negative for the dollar. Sterling lost temporary ground as Q1 GDP data showed that the UK has slipped back into recession. However, the EUR/GBP 0.8222 resistance did its job. ...

(Reuters) - Asian shares and the euro eased on Monday, but losses were kept in check after a report showed Chinese factory activity stabilizing in April, alleviating worries about a sharp deceleration in the world's second-largest economy. European shares were also expecting a lower start, with financial spreadbetters predicting that major European markets would open down as much as 0.6 percent. U.S. stock futures were down 0.2 percent. The HSBC Flash Purchasing Managers Index showed China's factory output ticked higher, new business rose from multi-month lows and export orders perked up, though not sufficiently for a private sector survey of purchasing managers to flag a return to expansionary territory. The index, the earliest indicator of China's industrial activity, improved to 49.1 ...

Sunrise Market Commentary Fixed Income: Core global bonds remain well bid, but fail to profit from weak data While the Bund set a new contract high, the price action showed little momentum. Rumours about a French rating downgrade gave core bonds a shot in the arm, but subsequent weak eco data were largely ignored, triggering some profit taking in late US session. Currencies: Break lower in EUR/GBP confirmed Also in EUR/USD rather dull session leaving the pair little changed in the close. Intra-day decline on French rating rumours was later on reversed. Upcoming IMF meeting, French presidential elections and FOMC meeting might keep investors sidelined today. The Sunrise Headlines US Equities dropped for a second straight session on Thursday. The S&P fell 0.59% as weak ...