ASIA:

China’s economy stalled this month as the country tried to stamp out a surge in coronavirus cases and contended with the ongoing shipping crisis. China’s economy initially coped with the pandemic much better than many of its peers, recording growth last year as others shrank. But the fallout from the Delta variant and China’s zero-Covid approach has wrought havoc in recent weeks. The country’s worst coronavirus outbreak in a year spurred authorities to take dramatic measures to stop new infections, including locking down cities, canceling flights and suspending trade. The aggressive and uncompromising strategy appears to have contained Delta — at the expense of economic activity.

India’s economy rebounded in the April-June quarter even while a devastating second wave of COVID-19 swept the country, with growth of over 20% compared to a year earlier driven by a surge in manufacturing and higher consumer spending. Gross domestic product expanded 20.1% in April-June, the first quarter of India’s fiscal year, compared with the same period a year earlier, driven mainly by manufacturing and construction, the statistics ministry said on Tuesday. The government’s chief economic adviser K.V. Subramanian said private investments and consumer spending were driving a V-shaped recovery, and that the economy was well placed to deal with the impacts of any move by the US Federal Reserve to tighten liquidity. He also said India would not be impacted by the US Federal Reserve’s move to tighten liquidity expected later this year, as India’s macro-economic fundamentals are strong.

The major Asian stock markets had a mixed day today:

• NIKKEI 225 increased 361.48 points or 1.29% to 28,451.02
• Shanghai increased 23.16 points or 0.65% to 3,567.10
• Hang Seng increased 149.30 or 0.58% to 26,028.29
• ASX 200 decreased 7.80 points or -0.10% to 7,527.10
• Kospi increased 7.75 points or 0.24% to 3,207.02
• SENSEX decreased 214.18 points or -0.37% to 57,338.21
• Nifty50 decreased 55.95 points or -0.33% to 17,076.25

The major Asian currency markets had a mixed day today:

• AUDUSD increased 0.0058 or 0.79% to 0.73742
• NZDUSD increased 0.00212 or 0.30% to 0.70683
• USDJPY increased 0.04 or 0.04% to 110.04
• USDCNY decreased 0.00332 or -0.05% to 6.45056

Precious Metals:

• Gold decreased 0.24 USD/t oz. or -0.01% to 1,813.19
• Silver increased 0.31 USD/t. oz or 1.30% to 24.196

Some economic news from last night:

China:

Caixin Manufacturing PMI (Aug) decreased from 50.3 to 49.2

Japan:

Capital Spending (YoY) (Q2) increased from -7.8% to 5.3%

Manufacturing PMI (Aug) increased from 52.4 to 52.7

South Korea:

Exports (YoY) (Aug) increased from 29.6% to 34.9%

Imports (YoY) (Aug) increased from 38.1% to 44.0%

Trade Balance (Aug) decreased from 1.77B to 1.67B

Nikkei Manufacturing PMI (Aug) decreased from 53.0 to 51.2

Australia:

AIG Manufacturing Index (Aug) decreased from 60.8 to 51.6

Manufacturing PMI decreased from 56.9 to 52.0

GDP (QoQ) (Q2) decreased from 1.9% to 0.7%

GDP (YoY) (Q2) increased from 1.3% to 9.6%

GDP Capital Expenditure (Q2) decreased from 4.7% to 3.2%

GDP Chain Price Index (Q2) increased from 3.1% to 3.3%

GDP Final Consumption (Q2) increased from 0.7% to 1.2%

Indonesia:

Nikkei Manufacturing PMI (Aug) increased from 40.1 to 43.7

Some economic news from today:

India:

Nikkei Markit Manufacturing PMI (Aug) decreased from 55.3 to 52.3

Indonesia:

Core Inflation (YoY) (Aug) decreased from 1.40% to 1.31%

Inflation (MoM) (Aug) decreased from 0.08% to 0.03%

Inflation (YoY) (Aug) increased from 1.52% to 1.59%

Australia:

Commodity Prices (YoY) decreased from 62.3% to 50.3%

EUROPE/EMEA:

The Bank of England has appointed another Goldman Sachs alumnus to a top job at the central bank, with Huw Pill succeeding Andy Haldane as its chief economist. Despite reports that the Bank had been looking to increase its diversity by appointing a woman or someone from a minority ethnic background, it ended a lengthy selection process by announcing that Pill had been chosen and would take up the position next week.

The major European stock markets had a mixed day:

• CAC 40 increased 78.51 points or 1.18% to 6,758.69
• FTSE 100 increased 30.14 points or 0.42% to 7,149.84
• DAX 30 decreased 10.80 points or -0.07% to 15,824.29

The major European currency markets had a mixed day today:

• EURUSD increased 0.00401 or 0.34% to 1.18479
• GBPUSD increased 0.00285 or 0.21% to 1.37820
• USDCHF decreased 0.0009 or -0.10% to 0.91445

Some economic news from Europe today:

UK:

Nationwide HPI (YoY) (Aug) increased from 10.5% to 11.0%

Nationwide HPI (MoM) (Aug) increased from -0.6% to 2.1%

Manufacturing PMI (Aug) decreased from 60.4 to 60.3

Germany:

German Manufacturing PMI (Aug) decreased from 65.9 to 62.6

German Retail Sales (MoM) (Jul) decreased from 4.5% to -5.1%

German Retail Sales (YoY) (Jul) decreased from 6.5% to -0.3%

Norway:

Current Account (Q2) increased from 92.1B to 93.2B

Unemployment Rate (Jun) decreased from 5.0% to 4.8%

Manufacturing PMI (Aug) decreased from 63.2 to 62.2

Spain:

Spanish Manufacturing PMI (Aug) increased from 59.0 to 59.5

Swiss:

procure.ch PMI (Aug) decreased from 71.1 to 67.7

Italy:

Italian Manufacturing PMI (Aug) increased from 60.3 to 60.9

Italian Monthly Unemployment Rate (Jul) decreased from 9.4% to 9.3%

Italian Quarterly Unemployment Rate decreased from 9.7% to 9.3%

France:

French Manufacturing PMI (Aug) decreased from 58.0 to 57.5

French Car Registration (YoY) (Aug) decreased from -14.7% to -35.3%

Euro Zone:

Manufacturing PMI (Aug) decreased from 62.8 to 61.4

Unemployment Rate (Jul) decreased from 7.8% to 7.6%

US/AMERICAS:

The US private payroll report by the ADP disappointed analysts who expected a rise of 600,000 compared to the actual 374,000 increase. The figure still surpassed July’s addition of 326,000 positions, revised down by 4,000 jobs from the initial reading. The hospitality and leisure sector saw the most notable gains after adding 201,000 jobs. The markets are eagerly awaiting Friday’s jobs report from the Labor Department as a clearer indication of the current unemployment rate as the Federal Reserve is waiting on a “robust” employment report to alter monetary policy.

A recent survey by KPMG found that nearly 80% of polled businesses are experiencing a staffing shortage. Businesses cited an inability to attract or retain talent as the top threat for future growth. Canada is not alone, as ManpowerGroup found that 69% of employers globally have been unable to fill positions, marking a 15-year high. Marco Mendicino, Canada’s immigration minister, is seeking to attract new talent by outsourcing work to agencies and workers abroad. Around 82% of the 500 businesses polled said that they would like to become a “digitally integrated” company, while 77% of businesses said the pandemic has encouraged them to digitize their operations. Optimistically, 76% of those polled said they view technology and remote work as a new opportunity as opposed to a threat — but the key is finding skilled labor.

US Market Closings:

• Dow declined 48.2 points or -0.14% to 35,312.53
• S&P 500 advanced 1.41 points or 0.03% to 4,524.09
• Nasdaq advanced 50.15 points or 0.33% to 15,309.38
• Russell 2000 advanced 13.28 points or 0.58% to 2,287.06

Canada Market Closings:

• TSX Composite advanced 106.64 points or 0.52% to 20,689.58
• TSX 60 advanced 6.78 points or 0.55% to 1,238.11

Brazil Market Closing:

• Bovespa advanced 614.57 points or 0.52% to 119,395.6

ENERGY:

The OPEC group and their allies have agreed to stick with their current plan to increase oil output gradually. The decision, made at their virtual meeting today, means Opec+ will raise output by another 400,000 barrels per day in October, having already pledged to do so this month. OPEC+ has been gradually increasing its production output, having slashed output significantly early in the pandemic as demand slumped. They have stuck with their current plan despite pressure from the Biden White House to boost oil production to curb rising fuel prices.

The oil markets had a mixed day today:

• Crude Oil decreased 0.25 USD/BBL or -0.36% to 68.2500
• Brent decreased 0.3 USD/BBL or -0.42% to 71.3300
• Natural gas increased 0.273 USD/MMBtu or 6.24% to 4.6500
• Gasoline decreased 0.0443 USD/GAL or -2.07% to 2.0976
• Heating oil decreased 0.014 USD/GAL or -0.66% to 2.1162

The above data was collected around 13:20 EST on Wednesday

• Top commodity gainers: Natural Gas (6.24%) and Methanol (2.88%), Milk (4.82%) and Cheese (6.37%)
• Top commodity losers: Corn (-3.56%), Gasoline (-2.07%), Copper (-2.20%), and Soybeans (-2.02%)

The above data was collected around 13:33 EST on Wednesday.

BONDS:

Japan 0.03%(+1bp), US 2’s 0.2114%(-0.00%), US 10’s 1.3054%(-0.17bps); US 30’s 1.9242%(-0.00%),Bunds -0.3730% (+0.7bp), France -0.0220% (+0.4bp), Italy 0.6972% (-1bp), Turkey 16.47% (+0bp), Greece 0.781% (+3bp), Portugal 0.209% (-1bp); Spain 0.345% (+7.21bp) and UK Gilts 0.6950% (+7bp).