Asia – Markets Mixed

Markets are mixed in Asia this morning, the Nikkei, ASX and DJ-NZ down between half and a quarter percent, the Shenzhen and Hang Seng up 0.9 and 0.66%, respectively.

Unemployment improved in New Zealand in Q2 to 4% but the participation rate lost nearly a percent to 69.7%. In Australia, both the services and composite PMIs for July are down several tenths to 58.2 and 57.8, respectively, while in Japan, the services PMI actually rose by half a point to a still contractionary 45.4.

The Yuan added 4 pips against the dollar overnight after Markit released a 4-point reduction in China’s Services PMI for July.

Americas – China/US to meet over trade

Reuters reports an upcoming meeting between senior trade officials from China and the US to review the January phase-1 agreement and its implementation so far. Considering Trump’s war on Huawei and TikTok, as well as China’s failure to fulfil its import commitments, officials could be at loggerheads.

As the dollar falls (0.3% overnight), markets continue up in the US, the Dow closing at 0.62% and the Nasdaq at 0.35%.

Manufacturing conditions in the US improved to 53.5 in July alongside a better than expected drop in June’s factory orders to 6.2%.

Europe – UK car sales improve

European markets were mixed yesterday, the CAC gaining 0.28% and the DAX losing 0.35%.

July’s Producer Price Index for the EU improved vastly from -6% to +7% MoM.

In the UK the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has revealed an 11% increase in auto sales for the first time in months.

Commodities – Gold tops 2K

WTI peaked by a dollar 70 yesterday when the API reported another considerable drawdown – 8.6 mB, the 2nd such in a row. The commodity then relaxed back into its 41.50 groove as corona-inflicted demand fears pressure prices down.

Meanwhile, gold yesterday shot past its 2011 high, soaring through the 2K psychological level to 2047 before reconsidering back to 2034.

Corporate – Disney surprises, Mulan to stream

Google closed down 0.64% after regulators launched an investigation into its proposed $2.1 bn purchase of Fitbit – a strategy aimed at encroaching upon Apple and Samsung’s wearable tech market.

Alibaba is up 0.4% after raising $1.3 bn in a secondary Hong Kong listing for its Alibaba Health subsidiary.

But yesterday’s big “winner” was Disney – up 0.81% last night after disclosing a not-as-bad-as-expected quarterly earnings report. A $5bn loss translated into a 64 cent loss per share, as revenues plunged 42% YoY to $11.78 bn primarily thanks to the excellent performance of the new Disney+ streaming service’s 60.5 mn customers. The company has finally decided to skip the big screen and send its Mulan live-action epic directly to the net at $30 per household.

EasyJet (+8.57%) announced a 300% drop in revenues to £7 million, BP (+3.36%) 58% down to $31.2 bn, Fox (+1.75%) 4% to $2.42 bn and Bayer (-2.43%) 2.5% to €10.05B. Sony (-1.77%) revenues rose 2% YoY to $18.5 bn.

Today’s earnings come from BMW, Allianz, Metlife, Western Digital, Glencore, Humana, Delhaize, Discovery, Lincoln International, Fiserv, Perrigo, Walters Kluwer, Regeneron, Teva Pharmaceuticals and Commerzbank.

Heineken’s ex-dividend date is today.

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