ASIA:

Japan’s economy likely rebounded in the final three months of 2021 as consumption rose during a drop-off in COVID-19 cases, a Reuters poll showed, though it could slide back into contraction this quarter after a spike in Omicron variant infections. The world’s third-largest economy likely grew an annualized 5.8% in October-December, rebounding from a 3.6% contraction in the third quarter, according to a median forecast of 18 economists polled by Reuters. The increase was driven largely by a 2.2% rise in private consumption, which accounts for more than half of Japan’s gross domestic product (GDP), the poll showed.

The major Asian stock markets had a mixed day today:
• NIKKEI 225 increased 198.68 points or 0.73% to 27,439.99
• Shanghai closed
• Hang Seng increased 771.03 points or 3.24% to 24.573.29
• ASX 200 increased 42.20 points or 0.60% to 7,120.20
• Kospi increased 42.44 points or 1.57% to 2,750.26
• SENSEX decreased 143.20 points or -0.24% to 58,644.82
• Nifty50 decreased 43.90 points or -0.25% to 17,516.30

The major Asian currency markets had a mixed day today:
• AUDUSD decreased 0.00762 or -1.07% to 0.70666
• NZDUSD decreased 0.0052 or -0.78% to 0.66033
• USDJPY increased 0.307 or 0.27% to 115.262
• USDCNY increased 0.00864 or 0.14% to 6.36389

Precious Metals:
l Gold increased 0.42 USD/t oz. or 0.02% to 1,804.82
l Silver increased 0.046 USD/t. oz or 0.21% to 22.440

Some economic news from last night:
South Korea:
CPI (YoY) (Jan) decreased from 3.7% to 3.6%
CPI (MoM) (Jan) increased from 0.2% to 0.6%
New Zealand:
Building Consents (MoM) (Dec) remain the same at 0.6%

Some economic news from today
India:
FX Reserves, USD decreased from 634.29B to 629.76B
Singapore:
Retail Sales (MoM) (Dec) decreased from 2.8% to 2.3%
Retail Sales (YoY) (Dec) increased from 2.2% to 6.7%

EUROPE/EMEA:

Portugal’s Economy minister Pedro Siza Vieira said in an interview that Brexit has damaged Britain’s oldest ally, Portugal, economically and politically by impacting its trade and international influence. He further added that the that Portugal had never been a member of a major international organisation which Britain was not also a member. However, he said Brexit had damaged the relationship between the two old allies as they prepare to mark the 650th anniversary of the treaty which first forged their diplomatic bond.

The major Europe stock markets had a negative day:
•CAC 40  decreased 54.25 points or -0.77% to 6,951.38
•FTSE 100 decreased 12.44 points or -0.17% to 7,516.40
•DAX 30 decreased 268.91 points or -1.75% to 15,099.56

The major Europe currency markets had a mixed day today:
• EURUSD  increased 0.00138 or 0.12% to 1.14499
• GBPUSD decreased 0.00542 or -0.40% to 1.35435
• USDCHF  increased 0.00429 or 0.47% to 0.92474

Some economic news from Europe today:
France:
French Industrial Production (MoM) (Dec) increased from -0.5% to -0.2%
French Non-Farm Payrolls (QoQ) (Q4) increased from 0.4% to 0.5%
Germany:
German Factory Orders (MoM) (Dec) decreased from 3.6% to 2.8%
IHS Markit Construction PMI (Jan) increased from 48.2 to 54.4
Euro Zone:
Retail Sales (YoY) (Dec) decreased from 8.2% to 2.0%
Retail Sales (MoM) (Dec) decreased from 1.0% to -3.0%
UK:
Construction PMI (Jan) increased from 54.3 to 56.3

US/AMERICAS:

Nonfarm payrolls in the US rose 467,000 in January, far surpassing analysts’ estimates of 150,000. This now brings the unemployment rate to 4%, only 0.5% beneath pre-pandemic levels. December’s original report of 199,000 shot up to 510,000, while November spiked to 647,000 from the initially reported 249,000. Accounting for all the new changes, 2021 saw 6.665 million jobs created, marking the largest single-year gain in the nation’s history.

US Market Closings:

• Dow declined 21.42 points or -0.06% to 35,089.74
• S&P 500 advanced 23.09 points or 0.52% to 4,500.53
• Nasdaqadvanced 219.19 points or 1.58% to 14,098.01
• Russell 2000 advanced 11.33 points or 0.57% to 2,002.36

Canada Market Closings:

• TSX Composite advanced 177.84 points or 0.84% to 21,271.85
• TSX 60 advanced 11.41 points or 0.89% to 1,294.06

Brazil Market Closing:

• Bovespa advanced 549 points or 0.49% to 112,244.94

ENERGY:

The oil markets had a mixed day today:
•Crude Oil increased 2.4 USD/BBL or 2.66% to 92.6700
•Brent increased 2.35 USD/BBL or 2.58% to 93.4500
•Natural gas decreased 0.115 USD/MMBtu or -2.35% to 4.7730
•Gasoline increased 0.0394 USD/GAL or 1.49% to 2.6821
•Heating oil increased 0.0376 USD/GAL or 1.32% to 2.8771

The above data was collected around 11:55 EST on Friday

•Top commodity gainers: Crude Oil (2.66%) and Coal (2.71%), Lithium (2.72%), Lumber (4.39%)

•Top commodity losers: Platinum (-1.20%), Orange Juice(-4.10%), Rice(-0.46%) and Natural Gas(-2.35%)

The above data was collected around 12:02 EST on Friday.

BONDS:

Japan 0.216%(+3.7bp), US 2’s 1.3039% (+0.10%), US 10’s 1.9193% (+8.33bps); US 30’s 2.2161% (+0.06%), Bunds 0.205% (+5bp), France 0.644% (+5.7bp), Italy 1.746% (+7.3bp), Turkey 21.84% (-4bp), Greece 2.005% (+14.2bp), Portugal 0.924% (+4.1bp); Spain 0.98% (+2.3bp) and UK Gilts 1.411% (+4.5bp).