Archives of “May 2020” month

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Nikkei 225 closes lower by 2.84% at 19,619.35

  
Analysis, Global Indices

A rough day for Japanese stocks amid holidays elsewhere in Asia

Nikkei 01-05

The drop reflects the softer mood in Wall Street yesterday, and also sentiment from US futures in trading so far today. E-minis are down by about 1.4% currently.

It is very much light trading on the day, with markets in China, Hong Kong, and Singapore among those that are closed. The same will apply to most parts of Europe with only London being the notable center that is open for business in the session ahead.
In the major currencies space, the aussie and kiwi are still keeping on the defensive with the dollar trading more mixed against the rest of the bloc.
AUD/USD is down by 0.8% to 0.6460, backing further away from its 100-day moving average.

Trump considers blocking a government fund from investing in Chinese equities considered a national security risk

  
  Analysis

Bloomberg carries the report, citing an unnamed “person familiar with the internal deliberations”.

  • President is exploring blocking a government retirement fund from investing in Chinese equities considered a national security risk
  • Thrift Savings Plan — the federal government’s retirement savings fund
  • the fund is scheduled to transfer roughly $50 billion of its international fund to mirror an MSCI All Country World Index, which captures emerging markets, including China.
Offshore yuan losing ground:

Bloomberg carries the report, citing an unnamed "person familiar with the internal deliberations".

China does not seem to like Pompeo too much – “enemy of humankind”, “highly venomous”

  
Analysis, Politics

China’s State media is attacking US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

They never have liked him much but since his comments on China and the virus, the attacks have stepped up
  • an “enemy of humankind” practicing “highly venomous” diplomacy
  • a “super-spreader” of a “political virus.”
  • “rumour monger” with a “dark mind.”
Meanwhile President Trump is back on the warpath with China:
  • Coronavirus – President Trump says China either incompetent, or let it spread
China's State media is attacking US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
The evident tensions are not a positivfe3 for further trade talks between the two countries and are a negative for risk trades  such as AUD.

White House economic adviser Kudlow denies US is considering cancelling debt obligations to China

  
  Analysis

The Washington Post carried the murmurings of debt cancellation earlier.

A hare-brained consideration if ever there was one. If anyone in the US admin was floating such an idea it would have been slapped down pretty darn quickly. Bond markets would freak.
Kudlow dousing the speculation:
  • The answer is absolutely not. The full faith and credit of U.S. debt obligations is sacrosanct, and that includes, by the way, maintaining the dollar as the world’s reserve currency
  • There is nothing to those stories that I heard about an hour ago. 
  • Absolutely not.
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