ASIA:
Finance sector professionals in Shanghai are preparing to move back to Hong Kong and other offshore centers after spending only a few years in the Chinese city as a harsh COVID-19 lockdown has hurt their business prospects and upended daily lives. Thousands of bankers, traders and investors in the financial hub of the world’s second-largest economy have found themselves confined to their homes, with some even struggling to secure food and other essentials for their families. An exodus will hurt Shanghai’s ambition to be a regional financial center and bring bad news for foreign investment banks, insurers and asset and wealth managers who have been expanding their footprints in the city over the past few years as China opened up its financial sector.
The major Asian stock markets had a mixed day today:• NIKKEI 225 increased 109.33 points or 0.41% to 26,700.11• Shanghai decreased 42.09 points or -1.44% to 2,886.43• Hang Seng increased 65.37 points or 0.33% to 19,934.71• ASX 200 decreased 155.30 points or -2.08% to 7,318.00• Kospi increased 11.18 points or 0.42% to 2,668.31• SENSEX increased 776.72 points or 1.37% to 57,356.61• Nifty50 increased 246.85 points or 1.46% to 17,200.80The major Asian currency markets had a mixed day today:• AUDUSD decreased 0.0032 or -0.45% to 0.71512• NZDUSD decreased 0.00366 or -0.55% to 0.65841• USDJPY decreased 0.505 or -0.39% to 127.479• USDCNY increased 0.02001 or 0.30% to 6.59030Precious Metals:• Gold increased 4.55 USD/t oz. or 0.24% to 1,902.24• Silver decreased 0.104 USD/t. oz or -0.44% to 23.501Some economic news from last night:Japan:Jobs/applications ratio (Mar) increased from 1.21 to 1.22Unemployment Rate (Mar) decreased from 2.7% to 2.6%South Korea:GDP (YoY) (Q1) decreased from 4.2% to 3.1%GDP (QoQ) (Q1) decreased from 1.2% to 0.7%New Zealand:Credit Card Spending (YoY) increased from 1.1% to 3.4%Some economic news from todayJapan:BoJ Core CPI (YoY) increased from 1.0% to 1.1%Singapore:Industrial Production (YoY) (Mar) decreased from 17.6% to 3.4%Industrial Production (MoM) (Mar) decreased from 16.6% to -12.6%EUROPE/EMEA:
Brent oil prices are primed to rise above $100 per barrel later this year, Goldman Sachs analysts said, adding oil market remains in a “surprisingly large deficit” as demand hit from the Omicron coronavirus variant is so far smaller than expected. The hit to demand from Omicron will likely be offset by gas-to-oil substitution, increased supply disruptions, OPEC+ shortfalls, and disappointing production in Brazil and Norway, the analysts wrote in a note dated Monday. Global oil demand is seen rising 3.5 million barrels per day (bpd) year-on-year in 2022, with fourth-quarter demand reaching 101.6 million bpd. It sees Brent prices at $90 per barrel in the first quarter of 2022, $95 in the second quarter and $100 per barrel in the last two quarters.
The major Europe stock markets had a mixed day:• CAC 40 decreased 34.81 points or -0.54% to 6,414.57• FTSE 100 increased 5.65 points or 0.08% to 7,386.19• DAX 30 decreased 167.77 points or -1.20% to 13,756.40The major Europe currency markets had a mixed day today:• EURUSD decreased 0.00622 or -0.58% to 1.06497• GBPUSD decreased 0.01431 or -1.12% to 1.25955• USDCHF increased 0.00267 or 0.28% to 0.96144Some economic news from Europe today:UK:Public Sector Net Borrowing (Mar) increased from 9.85B to 17.32BPublic Sector Net Cash Requirement (Mar) decreased from 2.346B to -2.416BSwiss:Trade Balance (Mar) decreased from 5.882B to 2.988B
US/AMERICAS:
The US Senate appointed Lael Brainard as the new vice chair of the Federal Reserve. Brainard will work side by side with Jerome Powell at an extremely delicate time for the central bank. Brainard has served on the board for years, and her appointment comes as no surprise despite the close 52-43 vote.
Home prices in the US spiked 19.8% YoY in February, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home price index. This marks the third-highest pricing in the index’s history of tracking data. The 10-city composite jumped 18.6%, an increase from January’s 17.3% reading. The 20-city composite rose 20.2% from 18.9%, and every city reported sharp price increases. Prices are expected to cool in the spring as rates rise and pending sales decline.
US Market Closings:
- Dow declined 809.28 points or -2.38% to 33,240.18
- S&P 500 declined 120.92 points or -2.81% to 4,175.2
- Nasdaq declined 514.11 points or -3.95% to 12,490.74
- Russell 2000 declined 63.73 points or -3.26% to 1,890.47
Canada Market Closings:
- TSX Composite declined 321.08 points or -1.53% to 20,690.81
- TSX 60 declined 18.28 points or -1.44% to 1,256.6
Brazil Market Closing:
- Bovespa declined 2,472.09 points or -2.23% to 108,212.86
ENERGY:The oil markets had a green day today:• Crude Oil increased 3.83 USD/BBL or 3.89% to 102.360• Brent increased 3.34 USD/BBL or 3.26% to 105.66• Natural gas increased 0.283 USD/MMBtu or 4.24% to 6.9520• Gasoline increased 0.1302 USD/GAL or 4.02% to 3.3700• Heating oil increased 0.4713 USD/GAL or 11.52% to 4.5622The above data was collected around 14:02 EST on Tuesday • Top commodity gainers: Natural Gas (4.24%) and Bitumen (4.10%), Cocoa(5.96%), Heating Oil (11.52%)• Top commodity losers: Rubber(-1.99%), Lean Hogs (-2.41%), Oat (-4.05%) and Orange Juice (-3.37%)The above data was collected around 14:07 EST on Tuesday.BONDS: Japan 0.2500%(+0.4bp), US 2’s 2.53% (-0.094%), US 10’s 2.7567% (-6.12bps); US 30’s 2.85% (-0.032%), Bunds 0.834% (-1.4bp), France 1.311% (+0.2bp), Italy 2.545% (-3.1bp), Turkey 20.63% (-6bp), Greece 3.014% (+3.7bp), Portugal 1.878% (-2bp); Spain 1.824% (-0.1bp) and UK Gilts 1.815% (-2.5bp).
