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• Wall Street had a mixed session on Friday, with the Nasdaq closing up 0.8%, the S&P 500 rising 0.2%, and the Dow Jones falling 0.3%. U.S. 10-year Treasury yields dropped 3 basis points to 4.15%, while crude oil fell 1.7% to $67.20 per barrel. AUD/USD traded in a range of 0.6373-0.64555 before closing at 0.6390.
• Asian equities closed mixed on Friday, with the Nikkei down 0.7%, while the Hang Seng and Shenzhen indices rebounded, up 1.6% and 1.3% respectively. Australia’s ASX slid 0.6%, with energy stocks hit hardest, down 1.2%.
• European equities opened stronger despite disappointing German industrial production data for October (- 1.0% m/m vs. 1.0% expected). The CAC led major indices, rising over 1.0%, followed by the Stoxx, up 0.5%.
• U.S. 10-year Treasury yields remained stable around 4.18% ahead of the non-farm payrolls report, while Brent crude fluctuated near $72/bbl. EUR/USD and GBP/USD briefly touched highs of 1.0595 and 1.2773 in early trading. Data showed the U.S. added 227,000 jobs in November, with the unemployment rate unexpectedly rising 0.1% to 4.2%, and the participation rate falling 0.1% to 62.5%, below the expected 62.7%. The dollar weakened following the data release.
• The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for December came in at 74.0, higher than the previous 71.8 and the expected 73.2. Details were mixed, with the current conditions index far exceeding expectations, but the expectations index significantly below forecasts. On inflation, 1-year expectations rose from 2.6% to 2.9%, above the expected 2.7%, while 5-10 year expectations fell 0.1% to 3.1% as anticipated.
• JP – Q3 F. GDP and Q3 F. GDP Deflator
• JP – Oct. Trade Balance, Current Account
• CN – Nov. PPI y/y
• CN – Nov. CPI y/y
• EU – Dec. Sentix Investor Confidence
• US – Nov. Wholesale Inventories
