Japan -0.05%. Japan May trade balance data shows big slump for imports y/y, small jump for exports.
China +0.64%. China May Industrial Production +3.5% y/y (expected +3.6%) & Retail Sales +12.7% (+13.6%).
China data – May new house prices +0.1% m/m (prior +0.4%).
China’s central bank lowered its key medium-term lending rates to 2.65%.
Hong Kong +1.60%.
Australia +0.19%. Australia (May) Jobs +75.9K (vs. +15K expected) & Unemployment rate 3.6% (vs. 3.7% exp).
Australia Consumer Inflation Expectations (June) 5.2% (prior also 5.2%).
India -0.23%.
In Asia, New Zealand fell into a technical recession after its first-quarter gross domestic product fell 0.1% year on year, after reporting a revised 0.7% decline in the final quarter of 2022.
In the U.S., all three major indexes closed mixed on Wednesday after FOMC hawkish pause. The FOMC kept rates unchanged but the dot plot forecasts 50 basis point hikes between now and the end of the year. The Dow industrial average fell -232.79 points or -0.68% at 33979.32; S&P index rose 3.50 points or 0.08% at 4372.52; Nasdaq index rose 53.15 points or 0.39% at 13626.47.
Coming up in the session: ECB rate decision is the main focus on the agenda today.
Oil prices inched slightly higher Thursday after declining a day earlier. Brent crude futures last traded 0.27% higher to $73.40 a barrel on that news, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 0.34% to $68.50 a barrel.
U.S. stock futures lower on Thursday: Dow -0.16%; S&P 500 -0.15%; Nasdaq -0.22%.
