Stock Market Update

The S&P 500 futures currently trade 23 points above fair value. 

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed on Thursday, with South Korea's Kospi Index (+3.6%) the winning standout once again, bolstered by its semiconductor components. Thursday's gain left the Kospi up more than 20% from its closing low in July (a span of just 10 trading sessions). Japan's Nikkei (+1.2%) also had another winning session, aided by some market-friendly PPI data. Nevertheless, market pricing continues to suggest a BOJ rate hike could happen in either September or October. The Q2 policy report from the PBOC, meanwhile, acknowledged continuing with a "moderately loose" monetary policy.

In economic data:

• Japan's July PPI 0.1% m/m (expected 0.6%; prior 0.5%) and 7.2% yr/yr (expected 7.4%; prior 7.3%)
• India's July Trade Balance -INR31.98B (expected -INR30.20B; prior -INR30.43B)
• New Zealand's Q3 Inflation Expectations 2.3% qtr/qtr (prior 2.5%)

---Equity Markets---

• Japan's Nikkei: +1.2%
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng: -0.2%
• China's Shanghai Composite: -0.5%
• India's Sensex: +0.1%
• South Korea's Kospi: +3.6%
• Australia's All Ordinaries: -0.2%

Major European indices are mostly higher, sporting modest gains in a move that has drawn support from sliding oil prices.The Norges Bank left its key policy rate unchanged at 4.25% but suggested it may need to raise rates again. Corporate news hasn't been much of a market mover, taking a backseat to economic news that included a data dump from the U.K. that featured stronger-than-expected GDP for June and a larger-than-expected trade deficit for June.

In economic data:

• Eurozone's June Industrial Production 0.0% m/m (expected -0.1%; prior 0.3%) and 0.1% yr/yr (expected -0.8%; prior -0.1%)
• U.K.'s June GDP 0.3% m/m (expected 0.0%; prior 0.0%) and 1.1% yr/yr (expected 0.8%; prior 1.2%), Q2 GDP 0.4% qtr/qtr (expected 0.4%; prior 0.6%) and 1.2% yr/yr (expected 1.1%; prior 0.9%); June Industrial Production -0.2% m/m (expected 0.1%; prior -0.7%) and -0.2% yr/yr (expected 0.2%; prior 1.0%); Business Investment 1.7% qtr/qtr (expected -0.3%' prior 0.9%); June Trade Balance -GBP23.01B (expected -GBP20.60B; prior -GBP21.08B); June Construction Output -0.1% m/m (expected -0.3%; prior -0.8%) and -2.3% yr/yr (expected -2.4%; prior -2.0%)
• Spain's July CPI 0.3% m/m (expected 0.2%; prior 0.6%) and 3.6% yr/yr (expected 3.5%; prior 3.2%)
• Switzerland's July PPI -0.1% m/m (expected -0.2%; prior -0.3%) and -2.1% yr/yr (prior -2.1%)

---Equity Markets---

• STOXX Europe 600: +0.1%
• Germany's DAX: +0.3%
• U.K.'s FTSE 100: -0.4%
• France's CAC 40: unch
• Italy's FTSE MIB: +0.4%
• Spain's IBEX 35: +0.5%