Morning wrap (19.12.2022)

• ​​​​​​​Indices from Asia-Pacific traded lower today. S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.2%, Nikkei traded 1% lower while Kospi declined 0.6%. Indices from China traded 0.8-2.0% lower. Nifty 50 outperformed and traded 0.6% higher

• DAX futures point to a higher opening of the European cash session today

• US index futures trade above Friday's cash closing prices

• According to Reuters report, EU countries are considering imposing a natural gas price cap at levels that are lower than previously suggested

• JPY is trading higher at the start of a new week amid a Kyodo report suggesting that Japanese government may revise the BoJ inflation target. However, report noted that it is unlikely to occur as long as Governor Kuroda is at BoJ's helm (until April 2023)

• Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary said rejected media rumors saying that there are no plans to revise joint agreement with BoJ at the moment

• UBS lowered its forecast of Chinese GDP growth in Q4 2022 from 3.1 to 2.7%. However, forecast for 2023 was boosted from 4.5 to 4.9% as the Bank expects a positive impact from faster-than-expected reopening

• New Zealand services PMI dropped from 57.4 to 53.7 in December

• Cryptocurrencies trade lower at the beginning of a new week. Bitcoin drops 0.4%, Ethereum trades 0.8% lower and Dogecoin declines 2%. Litecoin drops nearly 3%

• Energy commodities trade mixed - oil gains around 0.5% while US natural gas prices drop over 6%

• Precious metals also trade mixed - silver drops 0.4%, gold trades flat and platinum gains 0.4%

• GBP and EUR are the best performing major currencies while NZD and USD lag the most

Japanese yen gained amid reports that the Japanese government may revise BoJ's inflation goal after Kuroda leaves in early-2023. USDJPY is trading slightly above 136.00 after a failed attempt at breaking below 135.85 support zone. Source: xStation5