There are key events and data releases that will move asset markets in their respective countries, namely an interest rate decision and guidance from Indonesia’s central bank, and inflation figures from New Zealand.
But otherwise, it’s a mixed bag.
For example, gold jumped 2% to a record high of $2,469 an ounce on Tuesday yet the dollar rose and the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield slid to a four-month low of 4.16%.
The U.S. yield curve paused its recent steepening trend too – having turned positive on Monday for the first time since January, the 2s/30s curve inverted again on Tuesday. The 6 basis point reversal was pretty steep, with no obvious trigger.
Asian stocks could get a lift from Wall Street’s rise after figures showed that U.S. retail sales in June were much stronger than economists had expected. The Dow notched a record closing high, while Big Tech struggled to close in the green.
These retail sales numbers may have boosted optimism about the U.S. economy – the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow Q2 tracking estimate rose to 2.5% from 2.0% – but not world oil prices. Worries over weak demand from China pushed oil to a one-month low.
Japanese markets are up and running again after Monday’s holiday. Bond yields slipped to their lowest in nearly three weeks, with the 10-year JGB yield down to 1.02% on Tuesday. This likely contributed to the yen’s fall back below 158 per dollar.
