Morning wrap (04.10.2021)

• Indices from Asia traded mixed at the beginning of a new week. Nikkei dropped 1.2% while S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.3%. Overall, session was a bit muted as traders from China and South Korea were off for holidays

• DAX futures point to a flat opening of the European cash session today

• According to CNBC report, United States will state today that China has not lived up to pledges in Phase 1 trade deal (purchase of additional $200 billion in goods)

• Over 50 Chinese military jet flew into Taiwan over the weekend

• Shares of Evergrande were suspended from trading in Hong Kong

• Hopson, developer from Hong Kong, may acquire majority stake in Evergrande management unit for about 40 billion HKD

• According to Reuters report, Fed Vice Chair Clarida actively traded stocks and bonds a day before Powell announced massive pandemic stimulus in 2020

• Lockdown in Auckland, New Zealand has been eased slightly, allowing visits to beaches and outdoor gatherings up to 10 people

• Iraqi oil minister said that OPEC wants to stabilize market and that $100 per barrel oil price would not be sustainable

• TSMC will increase prices of its advanced semiconductors by 10-20%

• Japanese media say that snap elections will be called for October 31, 2021

• Bitcoin rallied yesterday and briefly jumped above the $49,000 mark. However, the coin has pulled back below $48,000 since

• Precious metals trade mixed - gold and silver gain while platinum and palladium drop

• Oil trades little change while industrial metals advance

• NZD and CAD are the best performing major currencies while CHF and JPY lag the most

The Japanese Nikkei (JAP225) took a hit today and was one of the worst performing indices during a muted Asian session. Index dropped over 1% and plunged to a 1-month low, below the 28,700 pts price zone. Source: xStation5