Morning ticker for October 31, 2022: Asia mixed, Europe slightly higher, Americas unchanged

XTB: Asia-Pacific indices traded mixed in the first trading session of the week. Indices outside China rose in response to a strong Wall Street session on Friday, while indices in China fell on news of poor PMIs and new Covid outbreaks.

– European index futures point to a slightly higher session open

– US index futures trade flat after Friday’s rally

– There are reports that many facilities in China have been closed due to the Covid outbreak. These include the Disney Resort in Shanghai, casinos in Macau and the huge Foxconn plant in Zhengzhou.

– The Wall Street Journal reported that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) may decide to keep interest rates higher for a longer period of time.

– Wheat is trading 5% higher at the start of the new week. The upheaval comes after Russia pulled out of an agreement on Ukrainian grain exports

– Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva defeated incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in the second round of Brazil’s presidential election.

– Fed Banker Knot said he would choose a hike of 50 or 75 basis points at the December meeting. He added that the ECB is not halfway through tightening monetary policy

– China’s manufacturing PMI fell to 49.2 from 50.1 in October (50.0 exp). Services PMI fell to 48.7 from 50.6 (50.2 exp).

– Australian retail sales up 0.6%m/m in September (0.6% expected)

Japanese industrial production fell 1.6%m/m in September (expect -1.0%)

– South Korea’s industrial production fell 1.8%m/m in September (expect -0.3%).

– Energy commodities are trading weak at the start of the new week, with WTI down around 1.5% to trade near the $87 barrel mark.

– Precious metals are often traded lower. Gold was down 0.1%, silver was down 0.5% and platinum was down 1.1%. Palladium gained 1.3%

– NZD and AUD are the best performing currencies, while CHF and EUR are the weakest