GOOD MORNING ASIA

In Economy

On Friday, Asian Indices on weaker sentiment as investors fretted about a broadening global economic slowdown, with sentiment not helped by the absence of any positive signs for a resolution in the U.S.-China trade row. President Donald Trump said he did not plan to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping before a March 1 deadline to achieve a trade deal.That rattled investors hoping for a resolution to the months-long trade dispute between the world’s biggest economies. Wall Street shares slumped in response overnight, with the Dow falling 0.9% to pull back from a two-month peak scaled midweek on upbeat corporate results.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan shed 0.3%, easing back from a four-month peak touched the previous day.

The European Commission on Thursday sharply cut its forecasts for euro zone economic growth this year and next, stoking fears of a global slowdown spreading to Europe as businesses and investors grappled with trade frictions.

Mnuchin and Lighthizer are expected to engage in another round of trade talks in Beijing next week to push for a deal to protect American intellectual property and avert a March 2 increase in U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods.

In Bond Markets

Safe-haven government bonds benefited in the face of growing anxiety over the global outlook, with German long-term debt yields falling to their lowest in over two years(its lowest since November 2016). The 10-year German bund yield fell to 0.105% on Thursday, after the European Commission’s sharp cuts to growth and inflation forecasts.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield stood near a six-day low of 2.65% plumbed overnight, when it sank more than 4 basis points amid the broader risk aversion in markets.

In Currency Markets

The euro sagged under the weight of declining German bund yields. The single currency was down 0.2% @ $1.1336 after dropping to a two-week low of $1.1324 the previous day. It was on track for a 1% weekly loss.

The yen tends to attract demand in times of political tensions and market volatility due to its perceived safe-haven status. The dollar was little changed at 109.67 yen, nudged off a high of 110.09 reached the previous day.

In Commodity Markets

On Thursday Oil fell as the market was hurt by concerns that global demand growth would lag in the coming year. U.S. crude futures slipped 0.78% to $52.23 per barrel, extending losses after dropping 2.5% in the previous session.

In futures trading, gold's benchmark April contract on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange settled down 20 cents at $1,314.20 per ounce.

Natural gas futures for March delivery traded down nearly seven cents in advance of the EIA’s report, at around $2.60 per million BTUs, and it rose to about $2.62 afterward.