The Global Macro Pulse

The S&P 500 faded in late New York, trading to fall 0.4% on the day, but futures are up slightly in Asia. Combined with yen strength, this pushed the Nikkei down 0.5%. Other Asian markets are mixed. The Kospi is up 0.9% despite won strength, the Hang Seng Index rose 0.4%, but the Shanghai Composite is down 0.1%.

AUDUSD is marginally stronger than its Asian open, but at 0.9384 is below its New York high. Similarly, EURUSD is at 1.3508. USDJPY traded as low as 99.60 before rising to 99.80. The USD weakened against most EM Asia currencies. USDKRW traded down to 1055 in early trading where it met Bank of Korea resistance. Following the won, USDTWD dropped to 29.49. The IDR, INR, MYR, PHP, and SGD are all modestly stronger against the dollar, but the THB is flat. USDCNY fixed 15pips lower to 6.1317, just above its historic low on 14 November.

After falling overnight, the US 10yr yield is up just under 1bp to 2.6765%. JGB yields have fallen slightly though 10s, but the super long end is up 1.2bps. China’s 7-day repo rate fell 50bps to 4.9%, but swap rates rose 1bp. Most other EM Asian rates markets have rallied slightly, with Hong Kong and Singapore down 1 – 2bps, India down 2 – 5bps, and Malaysian rates down 2bps.