Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 3.88%, Shanghai Composite up 0.26%, Hang Seng up 0.20%, ASX down 5.30%
- Commodities : Gold at $1627.45 (-1.44%), Silver at $14.66 (-0.11%), Brent Oil at $26.07 (-1.03%), WTI Oil at $22.72 (+0.53%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 0.796, UK 10-year yield at 0.379, Germany 10-year yield at -0.434
News & Data:
- (USD) Final GDP q/q 2.10% vs 2.10% expected
- (USD) Unemployment Claims 3283K vs 1648K expected
- (GBP) Official Bank Rate 0.10% vs 0.10% expected
- (GBP) MPC Official Bank Rate Votes 0-0-9 vs 0-0-9 expected
- RBI slashes key repo rate by 75bps to 4.40% to fight coronavirus impact
- Germany’s Merkel: Impact of coronavirus likely to be bigger than financial crisis
Markets Update:
Asian stock markets are mostly higher on Friday following the following the overnight gains on Wall Street after the U.S. Senate finally voted to approve a massive $2 trillion stimulus package in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The news offset negative sentiment after a report by the U.S. Labor Department showed a spike in first-time jobless claims for the week ended March 21. Meanwhile, the U.S. now has the most number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the world, overtaking China.
Mainland Chinese stocks were mixed by their close, with the Shanghai composite rising 0.3% while the Shenzhen composite dipped 0.5%. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 advanced 3.9% at close, after seesawing in the green all day. South Korean stocks were also higher on the day, with the Kospi up 1.9%. Stocks in Australia led losses among the region’s major markets as the S&P/ASX 200 dropped 5.3%.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 99.187 after falling from levels above 100 yesterday. This was driven mainly by steep weekly declines against the Swiss franc, pound, and euro. Oil prices were mixed in the afternoon of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures down 1%.
Gold, normally bought as a safe haven, was slightly lower. Gold market participants remained concerned about a supply squeeze after a sharp divergence between prices in London and New York. The virus has grounded planes used to transport gold and closed precious metal refineries.
Upcoming Events:
- Friday, March 27, 2020
- 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) Core PCE Price Index m/m
- 12:30 PM GMT – (USD) Personal Spending m/m