Marketmind: Fragile markets wait on PMIs

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Tom Westbrook

A red tide swept over Asia-session screens on Friday as markets took a hot Japanese inflation reading and the Bank of England’s super-sized rate hike as bad news for growth.

looks set to snap a 10-week winning streak and the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index was poised for its worst week of the year, as rates and inflation look higher for longer. [MKTS/GLOB]

The yen earned some reprieve, but it’s shaky and at 143 to the dollar is firmly in intervention-watch territory.

Sterling had already failed to hold on to much of the boost from the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street’s hawkish turn, as bond markets see the economic fallout from high rates being deleterious, and it slid further against a rising dollar on Friday. [GB/][GBP/]

The , a growth bellwether, is quickly unwinding a two-week rally and Aussie stocks are down 3% in three days.

The sour turn leaves markets in a delicate spot ahead of global purchasing managers’ index surveys due through the day.

Softening is already broadly expected, but, in this sort of mood, any surprise could be taken badly, as solid numbers may only augur more hikes and higher rates. British retail sales figures are also due and expected to show contraction.

Chinese markets were closed on Friday for a holiday, but China futures were down almost 1% and an early-month rally on stimulus hopes has all but faded away, leaving investors feeling besieged by bad news.

In emerging markets, it’s a long way to the weekend for the Turkish Lira which is crumbling as a 650 basis point rate hike on Thursday fell far short of market expectations and was seen as a sign of the political limits on monetary policy.

Key developments that could influence markets on Friday:

Europe, UK and U.S. PMIs

UK Retail Sales

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