Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)
People walk past the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) building in central Sydney October 20, 2008. Reuters/Daniel Munoz
  • In US economic data non-farm productivity rose by 1.3% in the June quarter after sliding by 1.1% in the March quarter. US wholesale inventories rose at a 0.5% rate in the June quarter.
  • European shares fell on Tuesday, after China devalued its currency. Luxury goods retailers and automakers were amongst the worst performers. The German ZEW economic sentiment survey also weighed on stocks after coming in below expectations. The one bright spot was the Greek stock market which gained 2% after Greece and its international creditors reached a new bailout agreement. The Greek banking index gained 3%. The FTSEurofirst 300 fell by 1.7% with the German Dax lower by 2.7% while the UK FTSE lost 1.1%. In London trade mining shares were weaker with BHP Billiton down by 4.8% and Rio Tinto down by 3.1%.
  • US sharemarkets fell on Tuesday as China's surprise currency devaluation raised concerns about the health of the Chinese economy. Eight of the ten S&P sectors were weaker. Commodity prices were under pressure follwing the Chinese currency move, resulting in the S&P materials sector (down 2.1%) leading the declines. The energy sector lost 1.6%. The Dow Jones fell by 212 points or 1.2%, while the S&P 500 fell by 1% and the Nasdaq fell by 65 points or 1.3%.
  • US treasury prices rose (yields lower) as the surprise 1.9% devaluation of the Yuan increased speculation that Fed policymakers will delay raising US interest rates. US 2 year yields fell by 6 points to 0.68% while US 10 year yields fell by 9 points to 2.14%.
  • Major currencies were mixed against the greenback in the European and US session. The euro rose from lows near US$1.0960 to highs near US$1.1085, and ending US trade at US$1.1040. The Aussie dollar eased from near US73.50c to lows near US72.80c before ending US trade near US72.95c. And the Japanese yen eased from 124.70 yen per US dollar to JPY125.20 and ending US trade around JPY125.15.
  • World oil prices fell to fresh six-year lows after new OPEC estimates showed non-member producers continued to lift output. In addition production amongst OPEC members lifted to 31.51 million barrels per day - the highest level in 3-years. Brent crude fell by US$1.23 or 2.4% to US$49.18 a barrel while US Nymex crude fell by US$1.88 or 4.2% to US$43.08 a barrel.
  • Base metal prices fell by between 2.0-4.1% on the London Metal Exchange in response to the devaluation of the Chinese Yuan. The Comex gold futures price rose by US$3.60 or 0.9% to US$1,104.10 per ounce. Iron ore fell by US40c to US$55.90 a tonne.

Ahead: In Australia, wage price data is released. In the US, no major economic data is scheduled. In China retail sales, industrial production and fixed asset investment data is set for release. The Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Lowe speaks in Sydney.

[Kick off your trading day with our newsletter]
More from IBT Markets:
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Subscribe to get this delivered to your inbox daily