Chinese Yuan Hit by Mixed PMIs, Asia FX Eyes Steep Monthly Losses
China’s yuan fell on Friday following mixed signals from business activity data, while Asian currencies headed for steep monthly losses as a hawkish Federal Reserve and a robust dollar sparked sharp outflows.
The onshore yuan fell 0.1%, while the offshore yuan shed 0.5% after official Chinese PMI data showed the country’s manufacturing sector unexpectedly grew in September. But a private survey showed that a decline in the manufacturing sector deepened in the month, amid continued headwinds from COVID lockdowns.
CRUDEOIL set for first quarterly drop since 2020 as macro mood sours.
CRUDEOIL headed for its first quarterly loss in more than two years as escalating fears over a global economic slowdown and a stronger dollar overshadowed the prospect for tightening supply.
China’s factory activity eked out growth in September, but a slowdown in services sector growth and a downbeat private manufacturing survey pointed to further cooling as the economy grapples with COVID-19 curbs and softening export demand.
Markets volatile, Nifty hovers near 16800, Sensex flat; RBI MPC hikes repo rate by 50 bps
Domestic benchmark traded volatile as the Reserve Bank of India Monetary Policy Committee hiked repo rate by 50 basis points to 5.9 per cent, in-line with expectations. NSE Nifty 50 declined over 40 points to trade below 17,800 levels and the S&P BSE Sensex shed over 200 points to trade at 56,200. The broader markets were also in red as Nifty MidCap 100 and Nifty SmallCap 100 dropped over 0.1 per cent each. Sectorally, Nifty Metal and Nifty Pharma indices held up with marginal gains, whereas Nifty Realty, Nifty Bank, and Nifty Auto indices were bogged down in opening trade.