ASIA:
The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday cut its FY22 gross domestic growth product (GDP) forecast for India to 9 percent from 9.5 percent predicted in October, citing disruptions due to the Omicron wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the multilateral agency raised the country’s GDP projection for FY23 to 9 percent from 8.5 percent earlier and 7.1 percent from 6.6 percent for FY24. In its latest World Economic Outlook report, the IMF also cut its global growth forecast for calendar year 2022 to 4.4 percent from 4.9 percent projected in the last WEO report in October. For the US, the IMF has reduced its 2022 GDP forecast by 1.2 percentage points to 4 percent, on the back of a revised assumption removing the fiscal policy package from the baseline, early withdrawal of monetary accommodation, and continued supply shortages.
The major Asian stock markets had a mixed day today:
- NIKKEI 225 decreased 120.01 points or -0.44% to 27,011.33
- Shanghai increased 22.61 points or 0.66% to 3,455.67
- Hang Seng increased 46.29 points or 0.19% to 24,289.90
- ASX 200 closed
- Kospi decreased 11.15 points or -0.41% to 2,709.24
- SENSEX closed
- Nifty50 closed
The major Asian currency markets had a mixed day today:
- AUDUSD increased 0.00100 or 0.15% to 0.71696
- NZDUSD decreased 0.00030 or -0.04% to 0.66906
- USDJPY increased 0.433 or 0.38% to 114.349
- USDCNY decreased 0.00470 or -0.07% to 6.32613
Precious Metals:
- Gold decreased 17.63 USD/t oz. or -0.95% to 1,829.93
- Silver decreased 0.023 USD/t. oz or -0.10% to 23.792
Some economic news from last night:
Japan:
Corporate Services Price Index (CSPI) (YoY) remain the same at 1.1%
South Korea:
Consumer Confidence (Jan) increased from 103.8 to 104.4
New Zealand:
Credit Card Spending (YoY) increased from -0.4% to 1.2%
Some economic news from today
Japan:
Coincident Indicator (MoM) increased from 1.1% to 3.0%
Leading Index (MoM) increased from 1.5% to 1.7%
Leading Index increased from 101.5 to 103.2
Singapore:
Industrial Production (YoY) (Dec) increased from 14.1% to 15.6%
Industrial Production (MoM) (Dec) increased from 1.8% to 4.3%
EUROPE/EMEA:
The growth of the UK economy will slow down in 2022 as a result of Omicron – but it will still be the fastest growing economy of all the G7 countries, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In the latest amendment to its economic forecasts, the IMF today said it now expects British gross domestic product (GDP) to expand by 4.7 percent in 2022 – cutting down its previous prediction of 5.0 percent made in October 2021. But the cut to Britain’s expected growth rate in 2022 was the smallest among the Group of Seven (G7) large advanced economies besides Japan, and Britain’s GDP is still expected to grow faster than any other G7 nation in 2022.
The major Europe stock markets had a green day:
- CAC 40 increased 144.00 points or 2.11% to 6,981.96
- FTSE 100 increased 98.32 points or 1.33% to 7,469.78
- DAX 30 increased 335.52 points or 2.22% to 15,459.39
The major Europe currency markets had a mixed day today:
- EURUSD decreased 0.00160 or -0.14% to 1.12878
- GBPUSD increased 0.00120 or 0.09% to 1.35210
- USDCHF increased 0.00300 or 0.33% to 0.92090
Some economic news from Europe today:
France:
French Consumer Confidence (Jan) decreased from 100 to 99
France Jobseekers Total decreased from 3,087.8K to 3,075.0K
Italy:
Italian Trade Balance Non-EU (Dec) increased from 4.22B to 4.74B
Swiss:
ZEW Expectations (Jan) increased from -10.8 to 9.5
US/AMERICAS:
All eyes were on the Federal Reserve today as it indicated that rates will rise in the near-term. The central bank has maintained rates since March 2020, and has not raised rates since December 2018. “With inflation well above 2 percent and a strong labor market, the committee expects it will soon be appropriate to raise the target range for the federal funds rate,” the central bank stated.
The Bank of Canada voted to hold key interest rates at 0.25%, but warned that a hike is coming. The bank has artificially lowered rates since the pandemic began in March 2020. The central bank noted there have been improvements in the global economy albeit uneven. The official reports voices concerns over China’s struggling property sector. Global supply bottlenecks have pushed inflation well above the intended target, with CPI inflation expected to sit at 5% in the first half of 2022. “Overall, the Bank projects global GDP growth to moderate from 6¾ % in 2021 to about 3½ % in 2022 and 2023,” the bank noted. The central bank will meet again on March 2 to discuss new policies.
US Market Closings:
- Dow declined 129.64 points or -0.38% to 34,168.09
- S&P 500 declined 6.52 points or -0.15% to 4,349.93
- Nasdaq advanced 2.82 points or 0.02% to 13,542.12
- Russell 2000 declined 27.57 points or -1.38% to 1,976.46
Canada Market Closings:
- TSX Composite advanced 4.91 points or 0.02% to 20,595.89
- TSX 60 advanced 0.98 of a point or 0.08% to 1,253.09
Brazil Market Closing:
- Bovespa advanced 1,085.41 points or 0.98% to 111,289.18
ENERGY:
The oil markets had a green day today:
- Crude Oil increased 1.76 USD/BBL or 2.06% to 87.3600
- Brent increased 1.79 USD/BBL or 2.03% to 89.9900
- Natural gas increased 0.244 USD/MMBtu or 6.02% to 4.2970
- Gasoline increased 0.0627 USD/GAL or 2.55% to 2.5222
- Heating oil increased 0.0698 USD/GAL or 2.62% to 2.7389
The above data was collected around 14:07 EST on Wednesday
- Top commodity gainers: Natural Gas (6.02%) and Heating Oil (2.62%), Palladium (7.14%), Methanol (3.43%)
- Top commodity losers: Lumber (-4.27%), Sugar(-1.54%), Gold(-0.95%) and Wheat(-3.21%)
The above data was collected around 14:15 EST on Wednesday.
BONDS:
Japan 0.138%(+0.4bp), US 2’s 1.0254% (-0.00%), US 10’s 1.8011% (+2.51bps); US 30’s 2.1353% (+0.02%), Bunds -0.07% (+1.1bp), France 0.342% (+0.9bp), Italy 1.403% (+4.3bp), Turkey 21.40% (+0bp), Greece 1.695% (+4.6bp), Portugal 0.606% (+2.8bp); Spain 0.693% (+3.7bp) and UK Gilts 1.198% (+3bp).
