Open Nov 1

​In Asian Equity Markets traded cautiously Friday morning. Mainland Chinese stocks struggled for direction in early trade. The Shanghai composite slipped about 0.2% and the Shenzhen component traded around 0.3% higher. Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.44% in morning trade, while the Topix index shed 0.2%. Shares of gaming firm Nintendo rose more than 5.5%, after the company announced on Thursday a second-quarter profit that exceeded expectations. Meanwhile, South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.49%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia recovered from an earlier slip to trade largely flat.


In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar traded near a three-week low versus the yen on Friday before a U.S. employment report expected to show a slowdown in job creation, highlighting concerns about the health of the world’s largest economy. The U.S. currency also nursed losses against the euro and the pound after Bloomberg reported that Chinese officials have doubts about reaching a comprehensive long-term solution to the U.S.-Sino trade war. The dollar stood at 108.02 yen on Friday, close to a three-week low of 107.92.


In Commodities Markets oil prices steadied on Friday after a rough week, squeezed about 4% lower by a combination of rising global supply and uncertain future demand. U.S. crude surfaced for air for the first time in four days, gaining 15 cents, or 0.3%, to $54.33 a barrel. The contract was heading for a weekly loss of more than 4%. Brent crude was up 6 cents, or 0.1%, at $59.68 a barrel, leaving it also on track for drop of nearly 4%. U.S. crude inventories rose by 5.7 million barrels in the week to Oct. 25, dwarfing analyst expectations for an increase of just 494,000 barrels.


In US Equity Markets stocks fell on Thursday as conflicting tones surrounding a possible trade deal between the United States and China eclipsed strong earnings reports from Apple and Facebook. The S&P 500 lost 0.30%, to 3,037.56 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.14%, to 8,292.36. Kraft Heinz Co jumped 13.44% as the packaged foods company said it was spending more on marketing key brands next year, after reporting a better-than-expected third-quarter profit. Estee Lauder Cos Inc (EL.N) fell 3.62% after the cosmetics maker cut its forecast for full-year profit.


In Bond Markets two- and 10-year U.S. Treasury yields on Thursday recorded their biggest daily decline since Aug. 5 on trade fears and in the wake of an interest rate cut by the U.S. central bank. The benchmark 10-year yield was 10.9 basis points lower at 1.688% at the close on Thursday on reduced investor appetite for risk. The two-year yield typically moves in step with interest rate expectations. That made its fall by 10.6 basis points to 1.524% on Thursday unusual in that it came a day after the Federal Reserve’s signal that it would pause monetary easing following its October interest-rate cut.