Curriencies

China GDP, Brexit, oil and currencies


Asia Pacific markets were mixed in early trade Friday morning, as investors await the release of China’s third-quarter gross domestic product data — with slowing growth continuing to be a concern amid the ongoing trade war with the U.S.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.37% in the morning. Over in Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.43% in early trade, while South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.33%.China’s gross domestic product numbers for the third quarter are set to be out at 10:00 a.m HK/SIN. Beijing’s protracted trade dispute with the U.S. has weighed on its economy, with growth slowing to 6.2% in the last quarter its slowest pace in 27 years.Analysts expect that China’s growth will edge down further.”China’s annual GDP growth is expected to tick down to 6.1% and GDP rarely strays from the consensus, that said this time around there are few forecasters suggesting China could print a sub 6%yoy growth for the first time on record,” Rodrigo Catril, senior foreign exchange strategist at National Australia Bank, wrote in a note.The country’s retail sales and fixed asset investments data, also set to be out on Friday, will be important as well, he said. “The market will look to assess whether the government and PBoC easing measures are being large enough to offset the trade led slowdown in manufacturing and exports sectors,” Catril wrote.Beijing had emphasized Thursday that the U.S. must remove tariffs in order for the two countries to reach a final agreement on trade.In IPO news, Saudi state oil giant Saudi Aramco is said to be delaying its planned listing, as it wants to update investors with its latest earnings following the Sept. 14 attacks which knocked out half its crude output, according to a Reuters report, citing sources.Meanwhile, markets in Europe overnight had rallied on news that a new draft Brexit deal has been reached, with the sterling jumping to a five-month high. But those hopes were soon dampened — with the sterling giving up gains — by U.K. opposition parties who voiced their concerns.The British pound was last at 1.2872 against the dollar, down from a high of $1.2988 at one point.Stateside, U.S. stocks jumped on the back of strong earnings reports from companies such as Netflix and Morgan Stanley.The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 97.594, sliding from an earlier high of 98.113.The Japanese yen traded at 108.63, a touch stronger than 108.67 seen earlier. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6825 following a low of $0.6819 seen earlier.What’s on tapHere’s the economic calendar for Friday (all times in HK/SIN):7:30 a.m: Japan consumer price index10:00 a.m: China GDP10:00 a.m: China industrial production10:00 a.m: China retail sales

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