German Import Prices Fall

News Event

From Trading Economics: The import price index in Germany declined by 0.6 percent year-on-year in October of 2016, following a 1.8 percent drop in September while markets expected a 0.8 percent fall. Excluding crude oil and mineral oil products, import prices decreased by 0.7 percent from a year earlier. On a month-on-month basis, import prices rose 0.9 percent, compared to a 0.2 percent fall in the previous month and consensus of a 0.7 percent increase. Import Prices in Germany averaged 79.05 Index Points from 1962 until 2016, reaching an all time high of 110 Index Points in March of 2012 and a record low of 41.10 Index Points in August of 1962

Market Opening Wrap

In Asian Equity Markets Japanese stocks erased early losses to end mostly higher on Monday as domestic investors scooped up financials and defensive shares, helping the broader Topix index to log a rise for a twelth consecutive day. The Nikkei ended down 0.1 percent at 18,356.89, as bargain hunters brought the index back from an early fall of 0.9 percent. But the Topix rose 0.3 percent to 1,469.58 and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 rose 0.3 percent to 13,187.85. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan rose 0.6 percent, led by gains in Hong Kong and Taiwan. At the close in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.79 percent.

In Currency Markets the dollar gave in to gravity on Monday and pulled further away from near 14-year highs as U.S. Treasury yields eased from recent peaks. The U.S. currency was down 1.3 percent at 111.650 yen following a rise to an 8-month high of 113.900 last week. The euro was up 0.9 percent at $1.0667 after stooping to an 8-month trough of $1.0518 on Thursday. The Australian dollar extended Friday's gains and rose 0.4 percent to $0.7460. Sterling nudged up 0.1 percent to $1.2497 while the New Zealand dollar added 0.4 percent to $0.7068. The dollar also fell against the safe-haven Swiss franc, losing 0.5 percent to 1.0091 per franc, its weakest in about a week.

In Commodities Markets oil prices fell on Monday, adding to Friday's steep losses as doubts re-emerged over the ability of major producers to agree output cuts at a planned meeting on Wednesday aimed at reining in global oversupply. Brent crude futures fell 2 percent at one point but regained ground to be trading down 24 cents, or half a percentage point, at $47 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures also retraced early loses to be down 0.6 percent, at $45.80 a barrel. Spot gold had gained 0.92 percent to $1,193.80 an ounce after climbing as high as $1,197.54 earlier in the session. Silver gained nearly 2 percent to $16.81 an ounce and palladium rose 0.2 percent to $742.50. Platinum was up 1.73 percent at $918.60.

In US Equity Markets the  three main indexes closed at record highs on Friday, helped by gains in consumer staples and technology stocks as investors hunted for bargains in a post-election rally.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.36 percent, to 19,152.14. The S&P 500 gained 0.39 percent, to 2,213.35 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.34 percent, to 5,398.92. Ten of the 11 major S&P sectors closed higher Friday, led by a 1.43 percent rise in utilities. The technology sector rose 0.37 percent, boosted by Cisco and Apple. Johnson & Johnson closed up about 1 percent after the company confirmed that it was in talks to acquire Swiss biotechnology company Actelion.

In Bond Markets  Japanese government bond prices rebounded on Monday as U.S. Treasuries stopped their retreat for now, with Tokyo shares snapping a 7-day winning streak to give safe-haven debt some breathing space. The benchmark 10-year JGB yield fell 2.5 basis points to 0.010 percent, moving away from a 9-month high of 0.045 percent struck on Friday. The 30-year yield was down 3.5 basis points at 0.570 percent.

Source: Institute of Trading and Portfolio Management