Asia – Xi sinks trade talk tingle

Most currencies are in standby mode this week as GDP reports are expected from the US, Canada and most European nations.

This morning finds the Nikkei up 1.56% and the Kospi at 1.5% as traders turn upbeat on the possible renewal of US-China trade talks.

The Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng are less optimistic at -0.24% and -55%, respectively, this after President Xi Jinping told a group of policy advisers that the Chinese economy was facing “turbulent change” and vowed to open the economy further, according to Reuters.

Europe – German GDP pleases

European benchmarks closed in the green yesterday with the DAX up front at 2.36%.

The Euro is swinging north after Germany’s Q2 GDP this morning came in slightly better than expected – contracting by 11.3% YoY rather than the -11.7% expected.

Americas – Apple disrupts Dow

Index futures continue north as President Trump attempts to sidestep US regulatory safeguards in order to have a Corona vaccine in place before November elections.

Last night the Dow added 1.35% and the Nasdaq 0.6%. Following yesterday’s Apple (+1.2%) stock split the Dow Jones committee announced that Salesforce (+0.45%), Amgen (=0.87%) and Honeywell (+1.19%) will be replacing ExxonMobil (+2.95%), Pfizer (-0/1%) and Raytheon (+1.61%) on their industrial index (DJIA).

The only major release yesterday, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index for July sank from 5.33in June to 1.18.

Commodities – Gold & Oil rest

Gold and oil continue sideways after losing about 8% yesterday, then regaining about half their losses throughout the session, mirroring dollar action.

Corporate – TikTok tackles Trump

Tesco (-0.22%) yesterday announced it was hiring 16,000 new employees as it boosts online activities.

Facebook (+1.64%) bows down to another government, this time blocking a million-member group of Thai government critics. Qantas (+2.41%) today announced 2.500 job cuts – planning to outsource ground handling activities.

Bytedance and TikTok employees are reportedly suing the US president for his administrative order banning transactions in the US, this as the company prepares its $75 bn IPO. Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal revealed that Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg was behind the government’s actions, allegedly in return for the company’s failure to censor Trump’s more inflammatory posts. Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navaro on MSNBC yesterday denied the allegations.

In other news, Facebook has agreed to pay France €104 million in back-taxes.

Today’s earnings reports include Best Buy, Urban Outfitters, Autodesk, Hormel Foods and Salesforce. Constellation Brands and Fastenal will be paying dividends.

Events