2010-07-06
Market Report – Afternoon - 6 July 2010
» Australia’s central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged (4.5%) for a second straight month on signs the Group of 20’s most aggressive round of increases is cooling retail sales and the property market.
» The yen rose against the dollar and euro in Asia today as Japanese institutional investors reacted to news that China significantly increased its buying of Japanese government bonds in the first four months of this year. Figures show that China stocked up on Y541 billion worth of Japanese sovereign bonds.
» U.K. government has apparently been drawing up contingency plans for the possible collapse of BP PLC which weighed on the both EUR and GBP. BP has liabilities of up to $70 billion, due to the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico back in April. Although BP has released statement saying they can cover costs of clean up.
» Investors will watch for how U.S. Treasury yields move in reaction to upcoming U.S. economic data, including the Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing index (ISM) due out tonight.