Johnson Tells Merkel, UK’s Ready to Go Without an EU Trade Deal

UNITED STATES

Futures on the S&P 500 dipped after the gauge closed lower (Futures on the S&P 500 Index fell 0.3%) snapping its 5-day win streak as investors continue to grew weary of the economic, public-health and policy response to the coronavirus pandemic with almost six shares falling for every one that gained. Benchmark Treasury yields steadied, and gold traded near the highest since 2011. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA tumbled 396.85 points or 1.5% to end at 25,890.18 while the S&P 500 index SPX shed 34.40 points or 1.1% closing at 3,145.32. All eyes will be on the U.S. weekly jobless claims report on Thursday.

UNITED KINGDOM

As Brexit negotiators held informal talks over a private dinner, negotiations are stuck over questions which include fishing rights, the future influence of EU courts in U.K. laws, and how far Britain will be able to loosen its rules and still enjoy access to the single market. Boris Johnson warned Germany’s Angela Merkel that the U.K. is ready to go without a trade deal if the European Union was not prepared to compromise. The British pound advanced 0.1% to $1.2557. Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 0.161% as at the close of markets yesterday.

EUROPEAN UNION

In Europe, stocks slid for a second day as a global equity rally lost momentum in the wake of economic damage caused by the pandemic. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.5%, Germany’s 10-year yield dipped one basis point to -0.44% while the DAX Index declined 0.4%.

ASIA

Few could argue that it was either slip in buying momentum or that stocks simply slipped Wednesday as concerns continue to linger over the economic impact of a second wave of the coronavirus. Stocks traded lower in Australia, Japan, South Korea, and were little changed in Hong Kong. The Shanghai Composite Index climbed for a seventh session. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 NIK dropped 0.2% in morning trading. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 XJO, dipped 0.4% and South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.1%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng HSI, reversed early losses, gaining 0.4% while the Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, added 0.6%.

SSA

Nigeria’s Central Bank has devalued its currency by 5.5% against the greenback as Africa’s biggest oil producers implements plans to migrate toward a single exchange rate system for the local currency. The official rate to the greenback was pegged at 381 naira from 360, according to data on the website of FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, the Lagos-based platform that oversees foreign-exchange trading. The depreciation of its currency comes after Governor Godwin Emefiele earlier this year said that policy makers plan to unify its multiple exchange rates to improve the transparency of its currency-management system.