Forex Marketz Daily Forex News – Fully Markets Update
The Asian and Pacific Rim financial markets were trading quietly near their flat lines on Friday. This comes despite better than expected economic data out of China that showed industrial output, for April recovering.
In Japan, the Asian benchmark, the Nikkei 225, was down about 0.3 percent. Shares on the broader Topic index, in Tokyo, fell 0.32 percent.
In Seoul, South Korea, the Kospi composite index was mostly flat by the end of the morning session (Hong Kong Time). Elsewhere in the Asian region, shares on the Australian S&P ASX 200 were up 0.79 percent.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was down 0.23 percent and shares on the Chinese mainland were a bit higher. The Shanghai composite rose a fraction of a percent and the smaller Shenzhen composite gained 0.23 percent.
Asian Traders Monitor Chinese Factory Data
China released monthly industrial output data that showed an annual increase (month to month) of 3.9 percent. This was the first time that this metric expanded in 2020 and is released by the National Bureau of Statistics.
Analysts had expected a rise of 1.5 percent. April’s retail sales, however, plunged. This number contracted worse than expected by 7.5 percent.
Chinese data, for April, is being closely monitored as the world’s second largest economy was the source of the Covid-19 pandemic and they were the first to reopen after strict lock down measures, to contain the epidemic, shut their economy down at the start of the year.
Traders Wait on Key Economic Data out of the EU and U.S.
The world’s largest economy, the United States, will publish monthly core and non-core retail sales data. Retails sales, for April, are expected to fall sharply.
Also on the U.S. schedule is the monthly Empire state manufacturing index. Forex traders will also watch for the preliminary University of Michigan (UoM) consumer sentiment gauge.
The European Union will release their flash gross domestic product data (GDP) today and the Eurozone’s largest economy, Germany, is releasing their preliminary quarterly gross domestic product (GDP).
