Morning Briefing: Chinese trade data, UK budget in focus

Chinese trade data, UK budget in focus
Wednesday’s trading sessions are focused on regional economics with a surprise slump for China’s trade balance and the UK’s budget among the items on the agenda.

The handover from Wall Street meant a weak start for Asia’s indexes but Chinese data showing a surge in imports and weaker-then-expected exports exacerbated the issues. 

A glimmer of hope came from stronger growth in Japan than was previously estimated with annualized growth of 1.2 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2016, revised upwards from a previous 1.0 per cent reading.

Most major Asian markets closed lower except Hong Kong and Seoul.

European markets are trending higher ahead of the UK budget. Corporate earnings continue to flow in and there was some positive data on Germany’s industrial production. 

Wall Street and Toronto are expected to open flat. Canadian housing starts and permits data is due along with US oil inventories.
 

	Latest	1 month ago	1 year ago
North America (previous session)
US Dow Jones	20,924.76 (-0.14 per cent)	+4.44 per cent	+23.35 per cent
TSX Composite	15,608.78 (+0.13 per cent)	+0.35 per cent	+17.26 per cent
Europe (at 5.00am ET)
UK FTSE	7,344.57 (+0.08 per cent)	+2.17 per cent	+19.90 per cent
German DAX	12,008.38 (+0.35 per cent)	+4.03 per cent	+23.89 per cent
Asia (at close)
China CSI 300	3,448.73 (+0.15 per cent)	+1.93 per cent	+10.97 per cent
Japan Nikkei	19,254.03 (-0.47 per cent)	+1.30 per cent	+14.72 per cent
Other Data (at 5.00am ET)
Oil (Brent)	Oil (WTI)	Gold	Can. Dollar
55.69 (-0.41 per cent)	52.82 (-0.60 per cent)	1213.50 (-0.21 per cent)	U$0.7444
			Aus. Dollar
			U$0.7560

Worst ever recession for Brazil
Brazil’s economy has slipped into its worst recession ever with a decline of 3.6 per cent in 2016.

CNBC reports that the final quarter of 2016 saw a further 0.9 per cent contraction for the economy, which had been declining for 8 consectuive quarters.

The figures reveal that Brazil’s economy is 8 per cent smaller than in was in 2014 and lawmakers are being pressured to find a solution with unemployment climbing to 12.6 per cent.

The government has launched a new program to encourage private investment and some analysts are suggesting that the worst is behind the country, with the possibility that the first quarter of 2017 will show a return to growth.