Reliance Trading Co. Limited – Asia Markets Retreat – Fed Testimony – Global Markets

WAN CHAI, Hong Kong - July 7, 2019 - PRLog -- Shares in Seoul bore the brunt of losses as political tensions weighed on the technology sector. Stocks in Japan, Hong Kong, China and Australia also fell. S&P 500 futures edged lower and the 10-year Treasury yield was little changed above 2%. Turkish assets were in focus after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's shock decision to replace the country's central bank governor fueled concern the regulator will lower borrowing costs more than expected.

Next up for traders comes Fed Chair Jerome Powell's testimony to Congress on Wednesday and Thursday. Despite the trade war and fragile global growth, the latest American labor report delivered signs the economy remains on track. U.S. stocks hit a record last week and a bond rally took yields to multi-year lows amid expectations the Fed will lower interest rates by at least a quarter percentage point at its July meeting, though fed fund futures showed traders trimming the amount of easing they expect.

Elsewhere, oil ticked higher as geopolitical risks remained high after Iran threatened to breach the levels of uranium enrichment under the 2015 nuclear accord.

Here are some key events coming up:

U.K. Conservative Party members vote on Monday by post to choose Theresa May's successor. Front-runner Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt will appear at events through the week to try and secure votes, including a TV debate on July 9. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testifies before Congress on monetary policy and the state of the U.S. economy on Wednesday and Thursday. A key measure of U.S. inflation, the core consumer price index, is expected to increase 0.2% in June from the prior month, while the broader CPI is forecast to remain unchanged from May.

Here are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

Futures on the S&P 500 Index slid 0.1% as of 9:30 a.m. in Hong Kong. The underlying gauge fell 0.2% on Friday. Japan's Topix index slid 0.5%.Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.9%.The Shanghai Composite fell 0.4%.South Korea's Kospi index retreated 1.6%.Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index slipped 0.9%.

Currencies

The yen was steady at 108.52 per dollar. The offshore yuan held at 6.8934 per dollar. The euro bought $1.1224, little changed.

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries remained at 2.03%.Australia's 10-year yield added five basis points to 1.33%.

Commodities

Gold fell 0.2% to $1,396.83 an ounce. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.2% to $57.62 a barrel.

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About Reliance Trading Co. Limited

Experienced, local and independent, Reliance Trading Co. Limited has a deep knowledge of markets and what causes change; we have local roots in Hong Kong but maintain a global reach and worldview; and we are a truly independent business which allows us to give you sound investment advice based on facts, not spin.

We started with one goal in mind: provide custom investment portfolios to fit your specific investment needs. Our client's love that we're able to tap into all of the same data, information and resources as larger investment houses, all the while offering a bespoke service to each and every client, as their situation requires.