ASIA/PACIFIC
-The Australian stock market closed lower on Thursday snapping a five-day winning streak, as Australia posted a lower-than-expected monthly rise in retail sales.
-Asian markets fell as data showed China’s consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 0.2 percent year on year in 2024.
-The global bond rout slowed in Asia on Thursday, even as Japanese yields edged to new multi-year highs, Reuters reported.
. EUROPE
-Major European stocks were mixed on Thursday as global markets focused on the inflation outlook.
-Gilt yields rose again in early trade on Thursday while the British pound was headed for its biggest three-day drop in nearly two years amid investor anxieties regarding the UK’s borrowing and weak growth.
-The Swiss National Bank will likely report a record full-year profit of around 80 billion Swiss francs ($87.79 billion) for 2024, it said, after benefiting from booming equity markets, rising gold prices and a stronger U.S. dollar.
. AMERICAS
North America
-U.S. markets are closed on Thursday to mark a national day of mourning following the death of former President Jimmy Carter.
Latin America
-Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Chile’s Codelco and Argentina’s YPF raised a total of $7.4 billion in the cross-border bond deals on Wednesday, sources involved in the deals told Latin Finance.
-Brazil’s weight in the MSCI Emerging Markets index dropped to 4% in December, down from 5.8% in 2023.
. AFRICA
-Zambia’s kwacha has fallen nearly 15% over the last six months and has hit a series of record lows since the start of the year as a severe drought keeps the pressure firmly on the copper-producing Southern African country’s economy, Access Bank Zambia said in a research note.
-The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on behalf of the Debt Management Office (DMO), has revealed a 283.42% oversubscription worth N1.47 trillion for the 364-day Treasury Bills at the auction on Wednesday (Jan. 8).
-The South African Rand started 2025 on the back foot as US data, Trump tariffs dim outlook for Fed rate cuts, Fin24 reported.
. MIDDLE EAST
-Saudi Arabia will record a resurgence in initial public offerings (IPOs), with 2025 and 2026 being heavy in terms of number of listings, Dr. Sultan Altowaim, Head of Research, Al Rajhi Capital told Zawya. Seven IPOs have already been approved/closed, with two to be listed in January and 97 IPOs under review.
-Kuwait Finance House (KFH) issued a 5-year Senior Unsecured Sukuk of US$1 bn listed on the London Stock Exchange. The Sukuk were priced at 95 basis points above the US Treasury Bonds, with a yield of 5.376% per annum.
–Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) invested $200 million in the first European-listed exchange traded fund to track the kingdom’s debt, as the government looks to attract more foreign flows into its bond market. The ETF is listed on the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Börse’s Xetra in Frankfurt.
. COMMODITIES
GOLD
Spot gold eased 0.1% to $2,659.62 per ounce, as of 0353 GMT. U.S. gold futures rose 0.2% to $2,678.30, accoring to Reuters.
SILVER-PLATINUM-PALLADIUM
Spot silver was flat at $30.12 per ounce, platinum dropped 0.3% to $952.95 and palladium shed 0.2% to $926.50.
OIL
Brent crude futures fell 28 cents, or 0.4%, to $75.88 a barrel by 0125 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate
crude futures dropped 30 cents, or 0.4%, to $73.02.
