Morning wrap (09.02.2024)

• Volatility in APAC markets today was limited due to the upcoming Lunar New Year celebrations. Index trading from mainland China was halted today. Indices in Australia, Japan and Korea traded marginally higher today.
• European futures point to a flat opening to the trading session on the Old Continent.
• Highlights of the day include CPI data from Germany, Canadian labour market data and Nagel's speech from the ECB. The calendar will conclude with quarterly reports from PepsiCo, among others.
• RBA Governor Bullock today warned of the persistence of inflationary pressures, but added that if consumption slowed faster than expected, there would be an opportunity to cut interest rates. The bank has not ruled out another interest rate hike if necessary.
• The Biden administration is considering restrictions on Chinese EV imports.
• Vladimir Putin said during an interview with US journalist Tucker Carlson that Russia had not yet achieved all its goals in Ukraine and would not attack Poland.
• Bank of Japan Governor Ueda echoed comments made by his deputy Uchida on Thursday, who said financial conditions in Japan will remain "loose" even after the BOJ ends its negative interest rate policy.
• The New Zealand dollar is currently the best performing currency following ANZ's forecast of an interest rate hike by the RBNZ at the bank's next meeting on 28 February and also at its next meeting on 10 April. The NZD/USD pair is gaining close to 0.45% today.
• Cryptocurrencies are continuing their gains, with Bitcoin clearly breaking above the $46,000 barrier. On an intraday basis, the cryptocurrency is already gaining more than 2%. 

Bitcoin above the $46,000 barrier. Source: xStation