Much of the first trading day of the week was all about China! It all started on Saturday, with another disappointing briefing on stimulus, this time from the country’s Ministry of Finance. It was short on detail, once again leaving investors deflated. On the positive side, finance minister Lan Fo'an did say that the government will significantly increase the debt ceiling to swap local governments hidden debt, to reduce their financial burden and allow them to allocate more resources towards economic development. Local governments have been under pressure to reduce their debt. This should allow them to boost debt and investment. Another thing to bear in mind is that its likely that some proposals will need approval from the National People’s Congress (NPC). This meeting is expected toward the end of October.

Having offered up those caveats on being too downbeat, these didn’t really matter. The immediate market response in the early hours was to mark down AUD and NZD. As the session progressed EUR, GBP and CAD came under some pressure also. Ranges were not large. As I prepare to post this Wrap the currencies I have mentioned are bouncing back. Same for Chinese equity indexes, which declined early in the session but are now higher. These improvements are coming as another 'stimulus' briefing takes place.

The yen has fallen a little on the session, with USD/JPY as high circa 139.48. Its around 149.27 as I write this.

Also impacting from China over the weekend were inflation data for September. The CPI came in at a slower rate than in August and also below expectations. The PPI remained in, even deeper, deflation.

From China on Monday, China’s People’s Liberation Army Eastern Theatre Command launched joint sea and air drills around Taiwan’s main and outlying islands. Army, Navy, Air Force and Rocket Force are all participating. The island of Taiwan has been completely surrounded in what is seen as a simulated blockade of the democratic state.

On the central bank front, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (Singapore’s central bank) left its monetary policy unchanged, saying its current settings are consistent with medium-term price stability. If you are not familiar with how the MAS conducts monetary policy, check out the link in the list above; the Bank uses SGD policies, not interest rates.

Gold bounced nicely:

gold wrap 14 October 2024 2