The flow of news and data has been light during trading here, with all eyes on the U.S. jobs report due by Friday.
China was the focus. Yields on Chinese government bonds have fallen to their lowest level in three years. The 10-year Treasury yield fell towards 2.50%, hitting a low recorded in May 2020. Expectations are accelerating for further policy easing by the People's Bank of China. In addition to falling yields, the stock market also fell. China's blue-chip stock index CSI300 index fell more than 1% at one point, and the Shenzhen market and Shanghai Composite index also fell. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index also fell.
Fitch downgraded four Chinese state-owned asset management companies (see bullet point above).
The People's Bank of China considered supporting the renminbi in today's benchmark rate setting, with the USD/RMB rate set more than 500 points lower than model estimates.
In the past 24 hours, bomb attacks in Iran, OPEC statement reaffirming commitment to unity and oversight, US warning Houthis to stop attacking Red Sea shipping or face possible military action, and more , crude oil trading remained steady due to many tailwinds. . A private inventory survey showed that withdrawals of major crude oils were higher than expected. US government inventory statistics will be released on Thursday morning US time.
