Forex Marketz Daily Forex News – Fully Markets Update
The Asian and Pacific Rim equity markets drifted lower Thursday morning as traders digested worse than expected Australian labor data. Asian traders were also digesting overnight remarks made by U.S. Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell.
Regional traders are also monitoring new cases of the Covid-19 virus which is once again spreading in China along the North Korean border. There have also been new cases in South Korea and Japan is starting to consider easing the state of emergency.
The benchmark Nikkei 225, in Japan, was down 0.68 percent by the late morning (Hong Kong time). The broader Topix index, in Tokyo, was down 1.08 percent.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was down 1.25 percent even though shares of Tencent rose 1.82 percent. The Chinese tech giant reported better than expected first quarter results.
On the mainland in China, shares on the Shanghai composite fell 0.56 percent and the smaller Shenzhen composite gave up 0.36 percent.
Elsewhere in the Asian and Pacific Rim, the Australian ASX 200 was down one percent.
Asian Traders Digest weak Australian Labor Data
Today, the Australian Bureau of Statistics published monthly labor data. For the month of April, the Australian labor sector shed 594,300 jobs.
Their unemployment rate also surged higher to 6.2 percent for the month as the impact of the Covid-19 virus is also being felt in the Down Under.
The Australian Prime minister said that “Every one of them devastating for those Australians, for their families, for their communities” but confidence is returning and surveys are pointing to a rebound. “Australians can see the road ahead.”
Traders Look at Remarks from the Fed Chair
Overnight, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that more must be done to support the economy during a webcast in front of the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
“While the economic response has been both timely and appropriately large, it may not be the final chapter, given that the path ahead is both highly uncertain and subject to significant downside risks,” Powell said.
