Open July 3

In Asian Equity Markets indices were down on Wednesday morning, as global trade concerns weighed on investor sentiment. The Shanghai composite was lower by 0.75% and the Shenzhen component shed 0.59%. The Shenzhen composite fell 0.62%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 0.35%. The Nikkei 225 fell 0.59% in morning trade, while the Topix fell 0.88%.  South Korea’s Kospi also declined 0.66%. Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 bucked the overall trend in the region as it traded 0.29% higher.


In Currency Markets the US dollar struggled for traction on Wednesday as fading hopes for any near-term Sino-U.S. trade deal revived safe-haven demand and drove U.S. bond yields to their lowest levels since late 2016. The pound was steady at $1.2592 after shedding 0.35% the previous day, when it touched a two-week trough of $1.2584. The Australian dollar was flat at $0.6991 after gaining about 0.4% the previous day. The Aussie had advanced after the Reserve Bank of Australia cut interest rates but offered a more balanced outlook.


In Commodities Markets oil prices edged higher on Wednesday after a steep fall in the previous session, supported by extended output cuts by OPEC and its allies despite concerns that a slowing global economy could crimp demand. An expected large draw in U.S. crude oil inventories also underpinned sentiment after a bigger-than-expected stocks fall in a private survey. Brent crude futures for September delivery were trading up 36 cents, or 0.6%, at $62.76 a barrel. U.S. crude futures for August were up 29 cents, or 0.5%, at $56.54 a barrel.


In US Equity Markets  stocks managed modest gains on Tuesday after holding near the unchanged mark for much of the session as enthusiasm over the U.S.-China trade truce faded after the United States threatened tariffs on additional European goods. the S&P 500 gained 0.29%, to 2,972.98 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.22%, to 8,109.09. L3Harris Technologies gained 4.28%, making it the best performer on the S&P 500, after Jefferies added the defense contractor to its top picks for aerospace and defense electronics for the second half of 2019.


In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury prices rose on Tuesday, driving 10-year yields below 2%, on renewed safe-haven demand due to anxiety about slowing global economic growth and reduced optimism about the restart on U.S.-China trade talks. Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note yields were down 5.70 basis points at 1.976%. They retested the 1.974% reached on June 20, which was their lowest level since November 2016. The U.S. bond market will close early, at 2 p.m. EDT, on Wednesday, ahead of the U.S. July Fourth holiday on Thursday.