News

The GBP/USD pair remains depressed below mid-1.3100s at the start of a new week and languishes near its lowest level since April 14, touched on Friday.

Ireland AIB Manufacturing PMI: 50.9 (October) vs previous 51.8

Parent company Cboe Global Markets, based in Chicago, told investors it has begun a formal sale process for both Cboe Australia, which handles equities trading and exchange-traded fund listings, and Cboe Canada, as it refocuses on its core operations and other global growth opportunities.

Roughly one-fifth of Australian equities trading currently routed through Cboe’s platform.

The move also comes just weeks after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) granted Cboe Australia a licence to list companies on its exchange, a development hailed by both the regulator and Chalmers as a key step toward breaking the ASX’s long-standing dominance.

ASIC has repeatedly stressed the importance of fostering competition, particularly given the ASX’s near-monopoly on initial public offerings and ongoing scrutiny over its operational and governance shortcomings.

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The potential sale of Cboe Australia comes at a pivotal time for the nation’s exchange landscape, with regulators seeking to loosen the ASX’s grip on listings and trading. A successful sale could reshape broker flows and deepen market competition.

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.

Gold price (XAU/USD) slumps to near $3,965 during the early Asian session on Monday. The precious metal extends the decline as a constructive US-China outcome reinforces global risk appetite.

South Korea’s manufacturing sector slipped back into contraction in October, ending a brief rebound as firms grew more cautious amid global uncertainty and the impact of U.S. tariffs.

The S&P Global Manufacturing PMI for Asia’s fourth-largest economy fell to 49.4 in October from 50.7 in September, sliding below the 50-point threshold that separates growth from contraction. The reading marks deterioration in factory activity for eight of the past nine months, underscoring a fragile industrial outlook.

S&P Global economist Usamah Bhatti said the improvement seen late in the third quarter “largely evaporated” in October, as new export orders fell back into decline, especially from the U.S., and domestic demand weakened. “Manufacturers noted that tariffs further impacted the sector, as new export orders fell into decline again, particularly emphasizing the decrease in U.S. export demand,” he said.

The downturn came just as U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung finalized a deal to cap U.S. tariffs on Korean cars and auto parts at 15%, a development that offered little immediate relief to exporters.

The sub-index for new orders fell to 47.6 from 50.2, while output slipped to 49.5 from 51.5, indicating broad-based weakness across the sector. Input costs rose sharply at the start of the fourth quarter, though some firms were able to pass higher prices onto customers.

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.

Investors in the region will be watching manufacturing activity figures out from China later today, as RatingDog publishes its PMI numbers for October.

Separately, Australian September Household Spending +0.2% m/m

• expected +0.4%,prior +0.1%
• spending on services was unchanged in the month, spending on goods +0.4%
• for the y/y +5.1% vs. +5.5% expected and +5% in August
• the improvement, while tiny, will be welcomed by the Reserve Bank of Australia
• but its a patchy recovery in consumer demand, with gains in food, health, and petrol, but showing drops in air travel and accommodation
• What is unlikely to be welcomed though is the news from this that non-discretionary spending jumped 0.6%, while discretionary categories were more or less flat … hints at ongoing cost of living pressures

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September building permits +12% m/m

• expected +5%, prior -6%

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Separately, Australia ANZ Job Advertisements -2.2% m/m in October, the fourth m/m drop in a row

• prior -3.5%
• for the y/y -7.4%

The RBA is of the opinion that the Australian labour market is still showing signs of tightness, but this is a sign of some loosening.

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The Reserve Bank of Australia is meeting today and tomorrow, no rate cut is expected. More on this here:

• Australia private inflation indicator higher at 3.1% y/y in October (prior 3.0%)

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.