Friday 10th January 2025: Asia-Pacific Markets Drop Amid Economic Data and Bond Market Moves

Global Markets:

•  Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 0.84%, Shanghai Composite down 0.44%, Hang Seng down 0.71% ASX down 0.4%
• Commodities : Gold at $2696.35 (0.26%), Silver at $31.14 (0.48%), Brent Oil at $77.29 (0.46%), WTI Oil at $74.36 (0.51%)
• Rates : US 10-year yield at 4.698, UK 10-year yield at 4.806, Germany 10-year yield at 2.5310

News & Data:

• (USD) Challenger Job Cuts y/y  11.4% vs 26.8% expected

Markets Update:

Asia-Pacific markets mostly declined on Friday as investors analyzed Japan’s November economic data. Real household spending in Japan dropped 0.4% year-on-year, a smaller decline than the 0.6% predicted by a Reuters poll and an improvement from October’s 1.3% decrease. Meanwhile, the average real income per household rose 0.7% to 514,409 yen ($3,252.98) in November.

In China, the People’s Bank of China announced a temporary suspension of treasury bond purchases due to supply shortages, according to Reuters. The PBOC stated that purchases would resume based on supply-demand dynamics in the government bond market. Following this announcement, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 0.47%, reversing earlier gains, while mainland China’s CSI 300 fell 0.46%.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 led regional losses, declining 1.02%, with the Topix losing 0.68%. Fast Retailing shares plunged 7.83% despite reporting strong first-quarter results. South Korea’s Kospi edged slightly lower, while the Kosdaq dropped 0.82%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 also fell 0.52% after initially trading in positive territory.

In the U.S., markets remained closed on Thursday for former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral. Traders now await December’s nonfarm payroll data, expected to show a gain of 155,000 jobs, down from November’s surprising 227,000 increase but consistent with recent averages. The unemployment rate is forecasted to remain steady at 4.2%.

Upcoming Events: 

• 01:30 PM GMT – CAD Employment Change
• 01:30 PM GMT – CAD Unemployment Rate
• 01:30 PM GMT – USD Average Hourly Earnings m/m
• 01:30 PM GMT – USD Non-Farm Employment Change
• 01:30 PM GMT – USD Unemployment Rate

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