Asian stocks reach 29-month top, China services surprisingly strong
Asian shares notched a 29-month high on Monday as investors wagered monetary and fiscal policies globally would stay super stimulatory, while an upbeat reading on China’s service sector augured well for continued recovery there-see story below on PBOC yuan peg. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.5% to reach its highest since March 2018, extending a 2.8% gain last week. Chinese blue chips .CSI300 firmed 0.7% to reach levels not seen since mid-2015. Surveys showed Chinese manufacturing activity edged back a tick to 51.0 in July, but services jumping a full point to 55.2 in a hopeful sign of reviving consumer demand. E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 ESc1 climbed another 0.5%, while EUROSTOXX 50 futures STXEc1 added 1%.
Tokyo's Nikkei .N225 rallied 1.9% aided by news Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N) had bought more than 5% stakes in each of the five leading Japanese trading companies. The Nikkei had dipped on Friday after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s resignation stirred doubts about future fiscal and monetary stimulus policies. Those concerns were eased somewhat by news Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, and a close ally of Abe, would join the race to succeed his boss. A slimmed-down leadership contest is likely around Sept. 13 to 15. Attention was now on a host of Federal Reserve officials that are set to speak this week, kicking off with Vice Chair Richard Clarida later Monday as they put more flesh on the bank’s new policy framework
Yields on 30-year bonds US30YT=RR jumped almost 16 basis points last week and were last at 1.52%, 139 basis points above the two-year yield. The spread was now approaching the June gap of 146 basis points which was the largest since late 2017. That shift was of little benefit to the U.S. dollar given the prospect of short rates staying super-low for longer, and the currency fell broadly. Early Monday, the dollar index was off at 92.30 =USD and just a whisker above the recent two-year low of 92.127 cap#3 The euro stood at $1.1902 EUR=, having climbed 0.9% last week.
The dollar did steady a little on the yen at 105.55 JPY=, after dropping 1.1% on Friday before finding support in the 105.10/20 zone. In commodity markets, the weakness in the dollar helped underpin gold at $1,969 an ounce. (and since they never mention silver it's up +0.56 +2.02%-cap #4)Oil prices steadied, having dipped on Friday after Hurricane Laura passed the heart of the U.S. oil industry without causing any widespread damage. Brent crude LCOc1 futures rose 26 cents to $46.07 a barrel, while U.S. crude CLc1 gained 13 cents to $43.10.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets/asian-stocks-reach-29-month-top-china-services-surprisingly-strong-idUSKBN25R026
China factory activity weaker than expected
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-factory-activity-weaker-than-expected-2020-08-30?mod=asia-markets
China lifts yuan midpoint to highest since July 2019
China’s central bank lifted its official yuan midpoint to the highest in 13 months on Monday to reflect persistent weakness in the U.S. dollar in global markets. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) set the midpoint rate at 6.8605 per dollar prior to the market open, 286 pips or 0.42% firmer than the previous fix of 6.8891 on Friday, and was the strongest since July 2, 2019.
https://www.reuters.com/article/china-yuan/china-lifts-yuan-midpoint-to-highest-since-july-2019-idUSAZN0FRP00
Japan industrial output rises for second month in recovery sign
Japan's factory output rose for a second straight month in July, signaling a gradual recovery from the blow delivered by the coronavirus pandemic. But retail sales fell for a fifth straight month and at a somewhat faster pace, a worrying sign for private consumption, which accounts for more than half of the world's third-largest economy. Monday's data underscored the fragility of an economy that suffered a record 27.8% contraction in the April-June quarter as the pandemic took a heavy toll on both domestic and external demand.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Japan-industrial-output-rises-for-second-month-in-recovery-sign
https://www.marketwatch.com/tools/marketsummary?region=asia
https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/index/dxy
https://www.kitco.com/charts/livesilver.html
https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/stocks/futures
Dow Jones Industrial Average shakeup-Exxon Mobil, pFizer, Raytheon out, Amgen, Salesforce, Honeywell in
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is getting a shakeup. Energy giant Exxon Mobil is out from the index in New York, while a leading IT firm is in. The changes take effect on Monday. Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer will be replaced, along with defense contractor Raytheon Technologies. Exxon Mobil joined the Dow in 1928. It had been the oldest component of the 30 blue chips in the index. One of the replacements is cloud computing firm Salesforce, which provides a platform for customer relationship management. The other additions are biotech company Amgen and industrial machinery manufacturer Honeywell International.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200831_19/
nite
np
still had list on notepad
almost did not put it in the bun but wasn't here most of the day yesterday.