• Bitcoin hit year low falling below $3,500 after a 11% dive.
• Chip stocks in Europe and Asia tumbled after the arrest of Huawei CFO . AMS dived 7%, STMicroelectronics fell 4% and Dialog Semiconductor slid 3%. 
• Dow rebounds after falling 780 points ending the day only slightly lower yesterday. 
• 10-year Treasury yield fell to 2.83% amid stock sell-off compared to the beginning of the week where it was above 3%.
• Non-Farm payrolls today expected to have expanded by 198,00 in November.
• Oil prices fell, Brent Crude falling below $60 a barrel, trading at $59.50, down 0.9%. This follows delayed OPEC oil cut decision, further talks to be held today with oil producing nations. 
• Singapore authorities cast shadow over the Noble Group's $3.5 billion debt rescue plan, stating that they would block the relisting of shares.

Asian overnight: Equities have recovered from their lows, with a better session in Asia overnight following on from a steep rebound for US indices that saw the Dow recover from an initial 400-point sell-off to end the day only 80 points down. Investors continue to watch for further signs of fallout between China and the US, but so far the situation is quiet. Markets are also waiting for a decision on oil supply levels from OPEC, the cartel having failed to reach agreement yesterday.

Asian stocks see some improvement after Wall Street Journal report suggests that the US interest rates may not increase as quickly as feared. Consequently, the Nikkei up 0.8%, the Hang Seng rose 0.2% and Shaghai stocks clawed back 0.4%. 

UK, US and Europe: The US jobs report is the focus of attention today, with the recent strength in wages likely to recur. Also on the calendar is the Canadian jobs report, plus the Michigan confidence survey.

Last night saw an amendment to the Brexit draft laid down in the House of Commons which offered MPs more say over when and if the contentious Northern Ireland backstop will be triggered. However, DUP leader Arlene Foster dismissed the amendment. 

Economic calendar - key events and forecast (times in GMT)

1.30pm – US non-farm payrolls (November): payrolls to be 205K from 250K, while average hourly earnings rise 0.2% MoM, and the unemployment rate holds at 3.7%. Markets to watch: US indices, USD crosses

1.30pm – Canada employment data (November): 10,000 jobs expected to have been created, from 11,200 a month earlier, and unemployment rate to rise to 5.9% from 5.8%. Markets to watch: CAD crosses

3pm – US Univ. of Michigan consumer confidence (December, preliminary): forecast to be 93 from 97.5. Markets to watch: US indices, USD crosses

Source: Daily FX Economic Calendar

Corporate News, Upgrades and Downgrades

• Associated British Foods said that trading for the first eight weeks of the year was in line with expectations, although November trading at Primark was described as ‘challenging’. The outlook for the current year was unchanged. 
• Berkeley Group reported a pre-tax profit of £401.2 million for the first half, down from £539.9 million a year earlier. Despite this drop, the firm has increased its pre-tax profit guidance for the current year by at least 5%. It sold 2027 homes in the period, down from 2190 a year earlier, but the average selling price rose to £740,000, from £721,000 a year earlier. 
• Premier Oil has reaffirmed annual output guidance, thanks to a stronger performance in November and December. Full-year output is forecast to be around 80k barrels/day. It has also begun drilling at the Zama-2 well offshore Mexico, and has completed the sale of its interests in the Babbage area for £30.3 million. 
• Walmart announce plans to buy Art.com a e-commerce home décor site.
• Fiat Chrysler announces plan to open new factory in Detroit.
• Yesterday saw 02 customers without data or facing cellular disruption for 24 hours.

Akzo Nobel upgraded to buy at Jefferies
Amer Sports upgraded to accumulate at Inderes
Rotork upgraded to neutral at Credit Suisse
Schindler upgraded to overweight at Barclay

BMW downgraded to reduce at Commerzbank
Scatec Solar downgraded to neutral at SpareBank
Centamin downgraded to hold at Berenberg
IP Group downgraded to under perform at Jefferies

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