Asia:
Indian stocks fell for a third consecutive session on Thursday as global sentiment was high on the US Federal Reserve, as investors awaited the Reserve Bank of India’s policy decision on Friday amid mounting inflationary pressures. The NSE Nifty 50 Index fell 0.6% to 17,692.70, and the S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.5% to 59,296, consistent with broader Asia. The minutes of the Fed’s March meeting, released on Wednesday, expressed deep concern among policymakers that inflation has spread through the economy and that tighter monetary policy is needed.
Major Asian stock markets had a negative day today:I NIKKEI 225 decreased 461.73 points or -1.69% to 26,888.57Shanghai fell 46.73 points, or -1.42%, to 3,236.70Hang Seng fell 271.54 points, or -1.23%, to 21,808.98• The ASX 200 fell 47.30 points, or -0.63%, to 7,442.80• Cospy fell 39.17 points or -1.43% to 2,695.86The Sensex fell 575.46 points, or -0.97%, to 59,034.95• Nifty 50 decreased by 168.10 points or -0.94% to 17,639.55
Major Asian currency markets had mixed days today:U AUDUSD decreased 0.00375 or -0.50% to 0.74724• NZDUSD fell 0.00277 or -0.40% to 0.68860USDJPY rose 0.068 or 0.05% to 123.883USDCNY rose 0.00097 or 0.02% to 6.36145
Precious Metals:• Gold rose 9.92 USD / t oz. Or 0.52% to 1,935.40Silver rose 0.111 USD / t. oz or 0.45% to 24.541
Some economic news from last night:Japan:Foreign bond purchases declined from -703.3B to -1673.7BForeign investment in Japanese stocks increased from -250.7B to 543.2BOverseas Reserve (USD) (Mar) decreased from 1,384.6B to 1,356.1BAustralia:Overseas Reserve (USD) (Mar) decreased from 60.0 to 56.2Exports (MoM) (February) fell from 6% to 0%Imports (MoM) (February) increased from -2% to 12%Private home approval increased from -16.3% to 16.5%Trade balance (February) decreased from 11.786B to 7.457B
Today’s economic newsChina:FX Reserve (USD) (Mar) decreased from 3.214T to 3.188TJapan:The Coincidence Index (MoM) remains the same at -0.1%Leading index decreased from 102.5 to 100.9Leading Index (MoM) decreased from -1.2% to -1.6%Hong Kong:Overseas Reserve (USD) (March) decreased from 491.10B to 481.60B
EUROPE / EMEA:
Expenditure on British credit and debit cards rose 6 percentage points a week from March 31, up 4% from its pre-Covid levels, according to weekly figures from the UK’s Office for National Statistics on Thursday. Weekly expense statistics – based on card payment data collected by the Bank of England – are not seasonally adjusted and are often volatile. A separate measure of restaurant bookings also showed an increase of 6 percentage points, but visits to shops and entertainment areas were 1% lower than weekly and 15% lower than before the COVID-19 epidemic began, the ONS said.
Annual inflation in Ireland jumped to 6.6% in March from a 40-year high, a jump from 5.6% a month earlier on energy prices, the Central Statistics Office said on Thursday. Diesel and petrol rose 46% and 35% year-on-year, respectively, while food prices rose 3.1%. Overall prices were 1.9% higher than in February, the fastest month-on-month growth since the first collection in 1997. The Central Bank of Ireland forecast this week that inflation would peak at 7.7% in the second quarter and above 7% in the third quarter before declining 5.1% in the last three months of the year. Annual Irish inflation peaked at 7% in 2000 and was above that level in 1984.
Europe’s major stock markets had a negative day:• CAC 40 decreased by 37.15 points or -0.57% to 6,461.68• The FTSE 100 fell 35.89 points, or -0.47%, to 7,551.81• DAX 30 decreased 73.54 points or -0.52% to 14,078.15
Today was a negative day for major European currency markets:• EURUSD fell 0.00108 or -0.10% to 1.08856• GBPUSD decreased 0.00105 or -0.08% to 1.30575• USDCHF decreased 0.00001 or 0.00% to 0.93338
Today’s economic news from Europe:Switzerland:The unemployment rate has risen from 2.5% to 2.4%The unemployment rate fell to 2.2% from 2.3%United Kingdom:The Halifax House Price Index (YoY) has risen from 10.8% to 11.0%Halifax House Price Index (MoM) (Mar) rose 0.8% to 1.4%Labor productivity (Q4) increased from -4.4% to 0.7%Germany:German industrial production (MoM) (February) increased from 1.4% to 0.2%France:Total French reserve assets increased from 232,616.0M to 235,521.0M (March)Eurozone:Retail sales (YoY) (February) fell to 5.0% from 8.4%Retail sales (MoM) (February) rose 0.2% to 0.3%
US / Americas:
The US labor market is strengthening, according to the Department of Labor. Unemployment claims have fallen to their lowest level since November 1968 after reaching 166,000 last week. This marks a fall of 5,000 over the previous week. However, there are five million more employment opportunities than available workers, which presents an ongoing problem and contributes to the wage-price spiral. Continuing claims actually increased to 1.52 million.
The White House on Thursday imposed further sanctions on Russia that could have a major impact on the US economy. The United States has stripped Russia of its most favored trade status. One step further, the US Congress has voted to ban the import of gas, oil and coal from Russia. President Biden is expected to sign the law soon. The short- and long-term effects of sanctions on Russian power are likely to be a major aftershock for the US economy.
US market closed:
- The Dow is up 87.06 points, or 0.25%, at 34,583.57
- The S&P 500 advanced 19.06 points, or 0.43%, to 4,500.21
- The Nasdaq was up 8.48 points, or 0.06%, at 13,897.3
- Russell 2000 fell 7.14 points, or -0.35%, to 2,009.8
Canada Market Closed:
- The TSX Composite advanced 46.29 points, or 0.21%, to 21,834.89
- The TSX 60 is up 0.73 or 0.06% to 1,323.03
Brazil market closed:
- Bowespa is up 634.37 points, or 0.54%, at 118,862.12
Power:
The oil market was mixed today:
Crude oil fell 1.33 USD / BBL or -1.38% to 94.890েন্ট Brent fell 1.59 USD / BBL or -1.57% to 99.48• Natural gas rose 0.238 USD / MMBtu or 3.95% to 6.2670Petrol decreased by 0.0348 USD / GAL or -1.14% to 3.0114• Heating oil decreased 0.1296 USD / GAL or -3.87% to 3.2156
The above data was collected around 12:38 EST on Thursday
পণ্য Top products beneficiaries: natural gas (3.95%) and coal (1.96%), soybean (1.74%), palladium (1.67%)• Top products damaged: wood (-3.05%), zinc (-1.99%), Brent (-1.57%) and heating oil (-3.87%)
The above data was collected around 12:44 EST on Thursday.
Bonds:
Japan 0.24% (+ 0.1bp), US 2 2.46% (-0.022%), US 10 2.6484% (+ 5.09bps); 2.69% (+ 0.069%) of US 30, Bunds 0.676% (+ 2.8bp), France 1.228% (+ 5.4bp), Italy 2.337% (+ 3.3bp), Turkey 24.68% (+ 0bp), Greece 2.816% ( + 0bp) 3.7bp), Portugal 1.637% (+ 5.8bp); Spain 1.687% (+ 5bp) and UK Gilts 1.720% (+ 1.5bp).