You may have noticed my radio silence in the past week. Last week was my one week off in 2013, but I’m back in the saddle ready to go for the last four months of the year.
In that vein, we’re constantly striving to improve the depth and breadth of our content for RiskReversal. So we’re excited to start a new daily post that will touch on snippets of overnight news and price action near the time that Asia closes and Europe opens.
Markets are globally intertwined, so a global focus is a must. The “Markets Overnight” post is our way of monitoring the important overnight developments more closely.
As for Sept 9th, here are the key points this morning:
- Tokyo Wins 2020 Olympic Bid – Tokyo prevailed over Madrid and Istanbul for the chance to host the 2020 Olympics. Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was enthusiastic in a speech today that the construction and development related to the Olympics will be another aid in ending the decades-long deflationary environment plaguing Japan.
- Japanese GDP revised higher – The revised second quarter GDP number was 3.8%, vs. the original estimate of 2.6%. Economists were expecting a revision higher anyways, however, with the median forecast for a 3.9% gain. The Nikkei closed at a one month high, up 2.5% on the day.
- Chinese exports beat estimates – Exports rose 7.2 percent year-over-year in August, vs. consensus estimates of 5.5% growth. The Shanghai Composite closed above the 200 day moving average for the first time since June, up more than 3%. The Hang Seng was weaker though, closing less than 0.5% higher.
- Tony Abbott is Australia’s new prime minister – Abbott is the leader of the Liberal-National coalition who won the Sept. 7 vote. He has voiced support for policies in favor of the mining industry (such as abolishing carbon and mining taxes). Australian stocks closed up 0.7% (less than 2% from the highs of 2013).
- European stocks open slightly lower – After last week’s 3% gain, the SX5E has started the day on a down note. The economic calendar is lighter this week in both Europe and the U.S. Spanish stocks are the worst performer, down 0.6% on the day.