In This Article:
Earlier in the Day:
Economic data released through the Asian session this morning was limited to December machinery order numbers and 1st quarter forecasts out of Japan.
For the Japanese Yen,
According to figures released by the Cabinet Office,
Core machinery orders fell by 0.1% in January, month-on-month, which was better than a forecasted 1.1% decline. In November, orders had stagnated. Year-on-year, core machinery orders rose by 0.9%, falling well short of a forecasted 4.8% increase. In November, orders had risen by just 0.8%.
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For the 4th quarter, core machinery orders slid by 4.2%, quarter-on-quarter.
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Forecast for the 1st quarter of this year is for core machinery orders to fall by a further 1.8%.
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Machinery orders from overseas fell by 21.9% in December, month-on-month, whilst rising by 12.1% in the 4th quarter of last year.
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Orders for the 1st quarter of this year are forecasted to slide by 17.1%, reflecting the effects of weaker global growth and the ongoing U.S – China trade war.
Upon release of the figures, the Japanese Yen moved from ¥110.536 to ¥110.521, against the Dollar. At the time of writing, the Yen stood at ¥110.50, down 0.03% for the session.
Out of China,
Vehicle sales will give the likes of the DAX a move and also give the markets some further insight into the direction of the Chinese economy. Sales figures are due out later this morning.
Elsewhere,
The Kiwi Dollar stood at $0.6887 at the time of writing, a gain of 0.28% for the morning. The Aussie Dollar was also in positive territory ahead of the RBA meeting minutes due out tomorrow. Rising by 0.17%, the Aussie Dollar stood at $0.7153.
In the equity markets, direction came from positive updates from trade talks, with an anticipated extension to the 1st March deadline for tariffs supporting risk appetite early on.
At the time of writing, the Nikkei was up 1.87%, in spite of the disappointing machinery order figures, with the ASX200 up 0.33%.
Leading the way through the early part of the day was the CSI300, which was up by 2.11%, while the Hang Seng trailed with a 1.51% gain early on.
The Day Ahead:
For the EUR
There are no material stats scheduled for release through the day. The EUR will be in the hands of market risk sentiment. With the Spanish government calling for snap elections in April and economic woes troubling the markets, new questions have arisen over the fiscal policies of both France and Italy.
Both Italy and France have budget deficits that are forecasted based on overly optimistic growth forecasts. With the EU cutting Italy’s growth forecasts and France’s existing forecasts sitting ahead of Germany, the EU may be forced to deliver cuts to French growth forecasts should 1st quarter economic indicators fail to support the numbers.