Japan Industrial Production Rose 1.3% in August

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From Trading Economics: Industrial Production in Japan increased 4.50 percent in August of 2016 over the same month in the previous year. Industrial Production in Japan averaged 1.37 percent from 1979 until 2016, reaching an all-time high of 33.10 percent in February of 2010 and a record low of -38.60 percent in February of 2009. Industrial Production in Japan is reported by the Ministry of Economy Trade & Industry.

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In Asian Equity Markets Japan's Nikkei share average edged down in choppy trade on Monday morning as the dollar is off its highs against the yen, while Tokyo Electric Power stumbled after an anti-nuclear candidate won a Japanese regional election. The Nikkei fell 0.1 percent to 16,844.51 in midmorning trade after trading in positive territory earlier. The broader Topix shed 0.1 percent to 1,346.22 and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 was flat at 12,046.42. Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings dived 8 percent and was the third biggest percentage loser on the board, making the utility sector the worst performer. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan fell 0.7 percent, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng hitting 1-1/2-month lows.

In Currency Markets the dollar inched up to a seven-month high against a basket of currencies on Monday, retaining momentum from upbeat U.S. data last week that reinforced expectations of a December interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve. The U.S. currency lost a bit of steam against its Japanese peer, falling 0.1 percent to 104.110 yen  after rising to as high as 104.480 on Friday. The euro was flat at $1.0970, hovering close to a near three-month low of $1.0964 plumbed earlier on Monday. Elsewhere, the pound fell 0.3 percent to $1.2156. The Australian dollar was down 0.4 percent at $0.7586, trimming some of its gains made on Friday on the back of a bounce in commodity prices.

In Commodities Markets oil prices fell early on Monday, pulled down by a rising rig count in the United States, a strong dollar and record OPEC-output which comes amid slowing global economic growth that could erode fuel demand. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were trading at $50.16 per barrel, down 19 cents from their last settlement. International benchmark Brent crude oil futures were also down, shedding 11 cents from their last settlement to $51.84 per barrel.  Spot gold rose 0.3 percent to $1,253.40 an ounce, while silver was up 0.2 percent at $17.41 a ounce. Platinum rose 0.8 percent to $939.30 and palladium was up over 1 percent at $651, after hitting nearly a three-month low of $629.22 in the previous session.

In US Equity Markets stocks ended little changed on Friday, losing ground late after Fed Chair Janet Yellen's comments on the economy unnerved investors. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 0.22 percent, to 18,138.38, the S&P 500 gained 0.02 percent, to 2,132.98 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.83 points, or 0.02 percent, to 5,214.16. Shares of Twitter fell 5.1 percent after Salesforce.com's  chief executive ruled out bidding for Twitter. Salesforce.com shares jumped 5.2 percent. HP Inc fell 4.4 percent after the company said it would cut about 3,000 to 4,000 jobs over the next three years. Shares of JPMorgan ended down 0.3 percent, however, while Citigroup ended up 0.3 percent and Wells Fargo was down 0.1 percent.

In Bond Markets Japanese government bond prices tracked a retreat in U.S. Treasuries and fell on Monday, although a regular debt-buying operation by the Bank of Japan helped limit losses.  The BOJ on Monday bought a total of 1.23 trillion yen ($11.95 billion) of one- to 10-year JGBs as a part of its bond purchasing scheme. The benchmark 10-year JGB yield was up half a basis point at minus 0.055 percent, while the 30-year yield rose 1.5 basis points to 0.510 percent.

Source: Institute of Trading and Portfolio Management