Asia:
China’s five major state-owned banks have taken a number of measures to reduce the burden of residential mortgages for private borrowers affected by the COVID-19 epidemic. The measures include deferring mortgage payments, extending repayment deadlines, as well as deferring the payment of principal and interest on housing loans, banks told Xinhua. The Bank of China has urged its branches to better meet the needs of areas severely affected by epidemics such as Jilin and Shanghai, and has promised more financial assistance to key groups, including those who have temporarily lost their incomes due to the epidemic. China Construction Bank says it has suspended loan repayments for about 1 million households by the end of March, including mortgages worth 430 billion yuan (about .5 67.55 billion).
Major Asian stock markets had a green day today:
- NIKKEI 225 rose 97.23 points, or 0.36%, to 26,985.80
- Shanghai rose 15.16 points, or 0.47%, to 3,251.85
- Hang Seng rose 63.03 points, or 0.29%, to 21,872.01
- The ASX 200 rose 35.20 points, or 0.47%, to 7,478.00
- Kospi rose 4.53 points, or 0.17%, to 2,700.39
- The Sensex rose 412.23 points, or 0.70%, to 59,447.18
- The Nifty 50 rose 144.80 points, or 0.82%, to 17,784.35
Major Asian currency markets had mixed days today:
- AUDUSD fell 0.00269 or -0.36% to 0.74550
- NZDUSD fell 0.00481 or -0.70% to 0.68439
- USDJPY rose 0.255 or 0.21% to 124.375
- USDCNY rose 0.00835 or 0.13% to 6.37235
Precious Metals:
- Gold rose 10.84 USD / t oz or 0.56% to 1,943.01
- Silver rose 0.226 USD / t. oz or 0.92% to 24.796
Some economic news from last night:
Japan:
Adjusted current account increased from 0.18T to 0.52T
Current account nsa (February) increased from -1.196T to 1.648T
South Korea:
Current account (February) has increased from 1.92B to 6.42B
Today’s economic news
Japan:
Family confidence (March) dropped from 35.2 to 32.8
The Economy Watchers Current Index (March) has risen from 37.8 to 47.8
India:
The cash reserve ratio will remain the same at 4.00%
The interest rate decision will remain the same at 4.00%
The reverse repo rate will remain the same at 3.35%
Bank loan growth has increased from 8.5% to 9.6%
Deposits have increased from 8.8% to 8.9%
FX reserves decreased from USD 617.65B to 606.48B
EUROPE / EMEA:
Eurozone bond yields rose on Friday as traders increased their bets on the European Central Bank’s rate hike this year. The minutes of the ECB’s latest policy meeting, which hockey exceeded expectations, have already boosted yields since they were released on Thursday. Goldman Sachs, which cut its call after the invasion of Ukraine, and Dansk Bank now expect the ECB to increase the basis by 25 basis points in both September and December. Expectations of a rate hike the following year have also risen sharply. Markets, for example, say bet rates will rise to about 1.15% in July 2023, up from about 0.95% at the beginning of the month.
Europe’s major stock markets had a green day:
- The CAC 40 rose 86.54 points, or 1.34%, to 6,548.22
- The FTSE 100 rose 117.75 points, or 1.56%, to 7,669.56
- The DAX 30 rose 205.52 points, or 1.46%, to 14,283.67
Europe’s major currency markets had mixed days today:
- EURUSD rose 0.00058 or 0.05% to 1.08776
- GBPUSD fell 0.00388 or -0.30% to 1.30323
- USDCHF fell 0.00021 or -0.02% to 0.93380
Today’s economic news from Europe:
Spain:
Spanish industrial production (YoY) (February) increased from 2.0% to 3.0%
Italy:
Italian retail sales (YoY) (February) rose 8.3% to 4.3%
Italian retail sales (MoM) (February) rose 0.7% to -0.6%
US / Americas:
The Bank of America has issued a warning that “inflation is always before the recession,” and is preparing for the worst. Bank analysts say the Fed’s decision to tighten monetary policy could lead to a possible “recession push”. Inflation is currently at a 40-year high and shows no signs of slowing down.
Ketanji Brown Jackson, appointed by Biden, was appointed to the US Supreme Court yesterday. The Senate confirmed Jackson by 53-47 votes, placing him in the country’s highest court. Republicans Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney abstained from the party line to hire Jackson.
US market closed:
- The Dow is up 137.55 points, or 0.4%, at 34,721.12
- The S&P 500 lost 11.93 points, or -0.27%, to 4,488.28
- Nasdaq was down 186.3 points, or -1.34%, at 13,711.00
- Russell 2000 fell 15.24 points, or -0.76%, to 1,994.56
Canada Market Closed:
- The TSX Composite rose 39.46 points, or 0.18%, to 21,874.35
- The TSX 60 advanced 1.34 points, or 0.1%, to 1,324.37
Brazil market closed:
- Bowespa fell 539.86 points, or -0.45%, to 118,322.26
Strength:
The oil market was mixed today:
- Crude oil rose 2.23 USD / BBL or 2.32% to 98.260
- Brent rose 2.26% to USD / BBL or 2.26% to 102.85
- Natural gas fell 0.042 USD / MMBtu or -0.66% to 6.3170
- Petrol rose 0.0876 USD / GAL or 2.88% to 3.1274
- Heating oil rose 0.0533 USD / GAL or 1.63% to 3.3211
The above information was collected around 14:46 EST on Friday
- Top products beneficiaries: wheat (3.00%) and wood (6.36%), orange juice (3.86%), palladium (7.90%)
- Top products damaged: bitumen (-5.98%), natural gas (-0.66%), rhodium (-1.55%) and methanol (-2.62%)
The above information was collected around 14:52 EST on Friday.
Bonds:
Japan 0.235% (+ 0.2bp), US 2 2.52% (+ 0.050%), US 10 2.7151% (+ 4.97bps); 2.75% (+ 0.060%) of US 30, Bunds 0.715% (+ 3.5bp), France 1.264% (+ 4.8bp), Italy 2.396% (+ 6.3bp), Turkey 23.98% (-35bp), Greece (+2.889) %) 5.5bp), Portugal 1.667% (+ 7bp); Spain 1.74% (+ 7.3bp) and UK Gilts 1.758% (+ 2.9bp).