EQUITIES
Asian share markets traded cautiously in Thursday morning, as Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.41%, S&P/ASX 200 shed -0.64%, and South Korea’s KOSPI loss –0.13%. Singapore’s loss -0.13%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined -0.22%. Meanwhile, China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.03% in early trading.
Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones and S&P 500 fell for the first time in four sessions. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite outperformed, rising 0.15% to 9,910.53.
OIL
Oil prices swung in and out of the red amid an increase in U.S. crude inventories and worries about a potential second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Currently, Brent is trading at $40.36, while WTI is trading at $37.45 as of writing time.
Brent crude futures ended Wednesday at $40.71 per barrel, while WTI crude futures at $37.96 per barrel.
CURRENCIES
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 97.086 after rising from levels around 96.5 seen earlier in the trading week.
JPY traded at 106.79 per dollar, stronger than levels above 107.2 seen yesterday. AUD changed hands at $0.6874, off highs above $0.693 seen earlier this week.
The dollar rose from early lows as investors wary of wider geopolitical risks sought its relative safety, but pared gains by the session’s end.
Rising tensions between North Korea and South Korea spurred demand for safe-havens, as did clashes between Indian and Chinese troops at a disputed border site.
GOLD
Gold currently trading at $1,727.20 per ounce, while stands around $1,735.40 per ounce for gold futures as of writing time. Previously closed at $1,726.60 and $1,735.60, respectively.
Silver trading at $17.50, platinum trading at $804.00 and palladium trading at $1,864.00.
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Asian stocks were set to dip on Thursday after a choppy Wall Street session as spiking coronavirus cases and prospects of new lockdowns erased earlier confidence about a global economic recovery.
Oil prices fell around 2% in early trade on Thursday as a spike in new coronavirus cases in China and the United States renewed fears that people would stay home and stall a recovery in fuel demand even as lockdowns ease.
Australia’s unemployment in May rose to 7.1%, according to a Thursday release by the country’s Bureau of Statistics. That was the highest since October 2001
British pound traded in a narrow range ahead of Bank of England meeting where policymakers are expected to expand quantitative easing in the face of a stuttering economy and rocky trade negotiations with the European Union.
To date, number of confirmed worldwide cases for COVID-19 pandemic has now reached more than 8.399 million today affecting 213 countries and territories around the world and 2 international conveyances, recording more than 451 thousand fatality globally.
TECHNICAL OUTLOOK
[USDJPY]
Important Levels to Watch for Today:
- Resistance line of 107.982 and 108.610.
- Support line of 106.555 and 105.995.
Commentary/ Reason:
- Stochastic and RSI oscillators are within the range of oversold and undervalued.
- The MACD is trading below its signal line and negative. The configuration is negative.
