Morning wrap (04.11.2022)

• US indices deepened post-FOMC declines yesterday and finished another session lower. S&P 500 dropped 1.06%, Dow Jones moved 0.46% lower and Nasdaq plunged 1.73%. Russell 2000 dropped 0.53%

• Chinese indices rallied today with most blue chips benchmarks trading over 2% higher. Hang Seng jumps almost 7%

• According to Bloomberg report, US officials finished first on-site inspections of Chinese companies in a move that will help prevent delisting of Chinese stocks from US exchanges

• China is working on a plan to drop Covid flight suspensions. Volume of news suggesting that China may be inching towards relaxing its Covid-zero policy has been on the rise recently, providing some support for Chinese equities

• Moods in other parts of Asia-Pacific region were mixed. Indices from Japan and India dropped while stocks in Australia and South Korea gained

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

• Reuters reports that G7 agreed on the idea to set a fixed price cap on Russian oil rather than discount to the index. However, price level itself has not been set yet

• Saudi Aramco lowered prices for December delivery to customers in Asia

• Reserve Bank of Australia boosted CPI forecast and does not expect inflation to return to the 2-3% target over the forecast horizon (ends in 2024)

• Telegraph reports that UK Chancellor of Exchequer Hunt is considering increase in capital gains tax rate

• Cryptocurrencies trade higher today. Bitcoin gains 2%, Ethereum trades over 3% higher while Polygon rallies almost 19%

• Commodities benefit from USD weakness - oil trades over 2% higher while gold and other precious metals gain over 1%

• US dollar is the worst performing major currency this morning while NZD and AUD are top outperformers

Unconfirmed news on relaxing Covid restrictions as well as Bloomberg report on US on-site inspections of Chinese companies are providing a lift for Chinese indices. CHNComp trades over 5% higher on the day and sits at 2-week highs. Source: xStation5