Happy Thanksgiving! This explains the quieter news flow. Overnight, Korea's central bank cut the key interest rate by 25bp to 3.00%, against the consensus expectation of no change. This was the main surprise. Equities in Hong Kong and mainland China fell, while stocks in Australia advanced. In New Zealand, November business confidence slipped by 1 point to 6!
Yesterday, ECB President Christine Lagarde warned in an interview with the Financial Times that tariffs are negative for global growth in the long term. She also noted that the trade war might be slightly inflationary for the Eurozone in the short term, pointing to a likely reduction in economic activity and swings in foreign exchange rates. Today, on the data front, we have Eurozone consumer confidence and regional German CPI, which will provide further insights into this.
Market-wise, Bitcoin fell 0.7% to $95,682.92, and Ether dropped 1% to $3,601.29. Japan’s 10-year yield declined by one basis point to 1.050%, while Australia’s 10-year yield dropped six basis points to 4.36%. West Texas Intermediate crude opened at $69 per barrel, and spot gold remained little changed at $2,640 an ounce. On the currency front, tomorrow's month-end activity will be the focus.
