Morning wrap (30.01.2023)

• Indices from Asia-Pacific traded mixed today. S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.2%, Kospi moved 1.3% lower, Hang Seng plunged 2.2% and Nifty 50 declined 0.1%. Nikkei gained 0.1% while indices from mainland China traded up to 1% higher

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

• US index futures trade near Friday's cash closing prices

• According to Wall Street Journal report, Fed members are concerned that inflation may re-accelerate after a recent slowdown, with some arguing a need to keep tighter policy for longer

• Chinese State Council held a meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang and agreed to promote consumption as a way of driving the economy, as well as boosting imports and easing cross-border travels

• People's Bank of China extended 3 targeted lending tools. A lending tool for supporting carbon emission reduction was extended until end-2024 while relending tools for promoting clean use of coal, as well as relending tool for transport and logistic sector, were extended until end-2023

• BoJ Governor Kuroda said that it is possible to hit a 2% inflation goal with current wage growth and monetary policy

• S&P rating agency affirmed Australia's credit rating at AAA with a 'stable' outlook

• Cryptocurrencies are trading lower - Bitcoin drops 0.3%, Ethereum trades 0.8% lower and Dogecoin dips 1.5%

• Energy commodities pull back - oil drops around 0.2% while US natural gas prices slump 7%

• Precious metals trade higher - gold gains 0.2%, platinum trades 0.3% higher while silver jumps 0.7%

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

US natural gas prices (NATGAS) slump over 7% today as weather forecasts for the United States continue to hint at a milder than usual winter temperatures, and a lower gas consumption in turn. Price dropped to levels not seen since early-April 2021. Source: xStation5