Varchev Finance: Trading day in one post 10.10.2017

Asian Stock Market: Most Asian shares climbed in early Tuesday trade as markets shrugged off the softer close on Wall Street. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.34 percent after markets reopened for trade following a long weekend. Trading houses and financial names declined, while automakers and tech stocks were mixed: Toyota jumped 1.47 percent, Mazda Motor slid 1.56 percent and Sony was down 1.16 percent. Across the Korean Strait, South Korea's Kospi surged 1.99 percent as blue-chip tech plays notched robust gains on optimism about profit expectations. Samsung Electronics jumped 4.49 percent and SK Hynix rallied 8.56 percent. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.03 percent above the flat line, with a 0.69 percent decline in the energy sub-index offsetting moderate gains seen in most other sectors. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged down 0.07 percent, while mainland markets were mixed after rising more than 1 percent in the previous session. The Shanghai Composite was off 0.24 percent while the Shenzhen Composite inched higher by 0.138 percent. The uncertainty over who will form New Zealand’s next government after last month’s election has gripped currency markets, sparking declines in the local dollar, but stocks chug on. The S&P/NZX 50 benchmark has climbed about 16 percent this year, topping 8,000 for the first time Monday. A2 Milk Co. and partner Synlait Milk Ltd. are leading gains in 2017, with both stocks more than doubling in value.

Currency Market: The yuan firmed against the dollar on Tuesday after China's central bank raised the yuan midpoint to 6.6273 a dollar, above the 6.6493 midpoint on Monday. According to Reuters, this was the first time the reference point was set higher since Sept. 22. The on-shore yuan traded at 6.5976 to the dollar at 10:14 a.m. HK/SIN, while the offshore yuan traded at 6.5875 to the dollar. Other Asian currencies also followed the yuan's lead to strengthen against the greenback, with the U.S. dollar shedding 0.3 percent against the Singapore dollar. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six major rivals, slid to 93.514 at 10:23 a.m. HK/SIN. Against the yen, the U.S. currency last fetched 112.64, off the 112.82 high touched earlier in the session. Turkey’s lira took a hammering on Monday amid a deepening standoff between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government and the U.S. The currency tumbled over 6 percent against the dollar earlier in the day as the nations suspended visa services for each other’s citizens over the weekend. The lira is almost 9 percent lower versus the greenback in the past month as expectations grow for a Federal Reserve interest-rate hike before the end of the year.

Commodity Market: Oil prices edged up after overnight comments out of OPEC that more could be done to tackle to oversupply in global oil markets. The bloc will next meet on Nov. 30. Brent crude rose 0.07 percent to trade at $55.83 a barrel and U.S. crude futures tacked on 0.12 percent to trade at $49.64. Gold futures added 0.3% to $1,288.05 an ounce after advancing 0.6% in the previous session.

European Stock Market: European stock market will follow the positive movements from the Asian trading sessions, as the major indices are poised for a strong start. French CAC will open 4 points higher at 5,357. German DAX also gained, 12 points to 12,952, and UKX will open 12 points higher at 7,500. Today the focus will fall on the import/export data in Germany - the biggest economy in the region. Market participants will also closely watch the EU Finance Ministers meeting.

U.S. Stock Market: U.S. equities closed lower on Monday as investors looked ahead to the start of earnings season. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.15 percent after hitting a record high earlier in the session. The index also snapped a nine-day winning streak. The Dow Jones industrial average also posted an all-time high before finishing 13 points lower. Shares of General Electric were the worst performers on the Dow. They fell 4.4 percent after the company announced CFO Jeff Bornstein will depart at the end of the year, along with marketing chief Beth Comstock and international executive John Rice. The S&P 500 slipped 0.2 percent and traded about 8 points below its record high. "It's natural for the market to digest big moves ahead of a major catalyst. In this case, it's earnings season," said Adam Sarhan, CEO of 50 Park Investments. Some of the major companies scheduled to report quarterly results this week include BlackRock, Citigroup, Bank of America and Wells Fargo. Their shares all declined Monday, putting pressure on the overall financial sector. The Financial Select Sector SPDR exchange-traded fund (XLF) declined 0.4 percent.

Economic calendar for the European and U.S. trading sessions:

09:00 Europe - German Import/Export
09:00 Europe - German Trade Balance
11:30 UK - Manufacturing Production
Tentative Europe - EU Finance Ministers Meeting
15:15 Canada - Building Permits
15:55 USA - Redbook
17:00 USA - FOMC Member Kashkari Speaks

European Equity Upgrades/Downgrades

SAINSBURY (SBRY LN) INITIATED WITH A BUY RATING AT BERENBERG
MORRISONS (MRW LN) INITATED WITH A SELL RATING AT BERENBERG
BAE SYSTEMS (BA/ LN) DOWNGRADED TO HOLD FROM BUY AT BERENBERG
ANGLO AMERICAN (AAL LN) UPGRADED TO BUY FROM HOLD AT HSBC
THYSSENKRUPP (TKA GY) DOWNGRADED TO UNDERWEIGHT FROM EQUAL WEIGHT AT BARCLAYS
SOCGEN (GLE FP) DOWNGRADED TO UNDERPERFORM FROM NEUTRAL AT CREDIT SUISSE
NATIXIS (KN FP) UPGRADED TO OUTPERFORM FROM NEUTRAL AT CREDIT SUISSE
AIR LIQUIDE (AI FP) UPGRADED TO BUY FROM NEUTRAL AT GOLDMAN SACHS
REED ELSEVIER (REE SM) DOWNGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM OVERWEIGHT AT JP MORGAN CHASE
IBERDROLA (IBE SM) DOWNGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM OVERWEIGHT AT JP MORGAN CHASE
STRAUMANN UPGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM SELL AT CITI
ERICSSON (ERICB SS) DOWNGRADED TO UNDERPERFORM FROM NEUTRAL AT CREDIT SUISSE
ELECTORLUX (ELUXB SS) REITERATED WITH UNDERWEIGHT AT JP MORGAN CHASE

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