MTS Help Center

The People's Bank of China injected CNY130 billion via seven-day reverse repos at open-market operations Today, adding from yesterday that injected CNY70 billion at same duration reverse repos.

Consumption in China will continue to grow at a quick pace in 2016, Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng told a news conference on Tuesday.

China's economic slowdown has caused jitters in global financial markets as it seeks to rebalance its economy towards consumption-led growth from a traditional reliance on exports and investment.

Consumption accounted for 66.4 percent of China's GDP growth in 2015, the statistics bureau said in January. Business surveys have shown resilient growth in the services sector even as activity in "old economy" sectors such as heavy industry contracts.

Recent yuan fluctuations will not impact trade performance, Gao also said, adding that neither depreciation or appreciation of the yuan would benefit China's trade.

Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. will introduce yuan-related currency futures as the bourse aims to deepen links with China.

The futures contracts will cover the Chinese currency’s exchange rates against the yen, euro, Indonesian rupiah and Malaysian ringgit, Chief Executive Officer Charles Li said at a conference in Hong Kong on Tuesday. A yuan-denominated gold contract is also in the works, he said.

“The cluster of all these currency instruments hopefully will create an eco system for China to say there is an offshore market that you can trade,” Li said. The exchange already offers yuan-dollar futures, “which are trading extremely well now and becoming really big.”

The bourse in January announced a three-year plan to expand ties with China, including more yuan-related products and starting a system for mainland investors to take part in the city’s initial public offerings. HKEx has been seeking to capitalize on fund managers wanting access to Chinese assets, as well as mainland investors looking to move money out of their home markets. Hong Kong’s link with the Shanghai stock exchange opened in November 2014, while the Shenzhen version was initially expected to start last year.

The Federal Reserve should stick with its plan to raise interest rates gradually, a top policymaker said on Thursday, given his view that unemployment is headed to 4.5 percent by late this year and inflation is set to reach 2 percent in two years.

San Francisco Fed President John Williams said his outlook has changed little since December, when he and other U.S. central bankers raised interest rates for the first time in almost a decade and signaled they were inclined to hike borrowing costs four more times this year.

That was before a global stock market selloff fueled by fears of a renewed world downturn put the Fed on policy hold in January as it sought to assess the uncertain impact on the U.S. economy.

"Despite the Sturm und Drang of international and market developments, the U.S. economy is, all in all, looking pretty good," Williams told an event organized by Town Hall Los Angeles. "I therefore continue to see a gradual pace of policy normalization as being the best course."

Economists polled by Reuters now see just two rate hikes this year. Traders are betting even odds at best of a single rate hike.

The U.S. consumer will be in focus Tuesday as Wall Street eyes some related economic reports and earnings. Investors also will watch for indications on oil prices and the path of Fed tightening, with key policymakers scheduled to speak throughout the day.

Jeremy Klein, chief market strategist at FBN Securities, said the consumer confidence figure is most important to him of the reports scheduled for Tuesday.

"If consumer confidence starts to unwind, that could be concerning because now the negative weight from Wall Street is starting to spill over into Main Street," he said.

Oil prices will remain a primary focus for stock market action, especially as Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi is scheduled to speak at the CERAWeek energy conference Tuesday at 9:50 a.m.

His remarks follow OPEC Secretary General Abdalla Salem El-Badri's comments Monday that the cartel is willing to work with non-OPEC producers to find a solution to low oil prices.

Stabilization in oil prices above $30 will likely support overall stock market gains, analysts said.

U.S. front-month West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were trading at $32.80 per barrel down 1.77% from Monday's settlement. International benchmark Brent was down 1.84% at $34.05a barrel.

Oil prices fall as global glut offsetting expectations of a drop in U.S. production that had spurred sharp price gains in the prior session.

The drop in benchmark prices is partly due to the prospect of rising Iranian production prolonging the world oversupply, analysts said. Globally, 1-2 million of barrels of crude are currently estimated to be produced daily in excess of demand.

"Crude supply growth from Iran will more than compensate for any decline in U.S. output," ANZ bank said.

"Without concrete actions (to cut production), we remain highly skeptical that prices could be moving higher," Singapore-based brokerage Phillip Futures said, adding that prices would instead face strong downward pressure.

Reference: PBOC, Reuters, Bloomberg, CNBC