ASIA:
Japan’s economic growth will likely grind to a near halt this quarter as coronavirus curbs and supply disruptions threaten to derail the country’s economic recovery, a Reuters poll of economists showed on Monday. The forecast was much lower than the robust expansion expected in January’s projection in a sign of the heavy damage chip and parts shortages, and the infectious omicron variant is inflicting on the world’s third-largest economy. The economy grew an annualized 5.4% in the final months of last year, keeping the seasonally adjusted real gross domestic product (GDP), sized around 541 trillion yen ($4.7 trillion), below the pre-pandemic level of late 2019.
The major Asian stock markets had a mixed day today:
- NIKKEI 225 decreased 451.69 points or -1.68% to 26,393.03
- Shanghai decreased 4.64 points or -0.13% to 3,484.19
- Hang Seng decreased 417.79 points or -1.84% to 22.343.92
- ASX 200 increased 20.20 points or 0.28% to 7,116.70
- Kospi increased 4.34 points or 0.16% to 2,703.52
- SENSEX decreased 778.38 points or -1.38% to 55,468.90
- Nifty50 decreased 187.95 points or -1.12% to 16,605.95
The major Asian currency markets had a green day today:
- AUDUSD increased 0.00241 or 0.33% to 0.72785
- NZDUSD increased 0.00167 or 0.25% to 0.67769
- USDJPY increased 0.757 or 0.66% to 115.619
- USDCNY increased 0.00424 or 0.07% to 6.32198
Precious Metals:
- Gold decreased 25.86 USD/t oz. or -1.33% to 1,917.36
- Silver decreased 0.286 USD/t. oz or -1.13% to 25.084
Some economic news from last night:
Japan:
Capital Spending (YoY) (Q4) increased from 1.2% to 4.3%
Monetary Base (YoY) decreased from 8.4% to 7.6%
South Korea:
Nikkei Manufacturing PMI (Feb) increased from 52.8 to 53.8
Industrial Production (YoY) (Jan) decreased from 7.4% to 4.3%
Industrial Production (MoM) (Jan) decreased from 3.7% to 0.2%
Retail Sales (MoM) decreased from 2.0% to -1.9%
Service Sector Output (MoM) (Jan) increased from -0.4% to -0.3%
Australia:
GDP (YoY) (Q4) increased from 4.0% to 4.2%
GDP (QoQ) (Q4) increased from -1.9% to 3.4%
GDP Capital Expenditure (Q4) decreased from 0.2% to -1.5%
GDP Chain Price Index (Q4) decreased from 0.5% to -0.6%
GDP Final Consumption (Q4) increased from -2.4% to 4.4%
New Zealand:
Building Consents (MoM) (Jan) decreased from 0.6% to -9.2%
Terms of Trade – Exports Prices (Q4) decreased from 4.6% to 2.7%
Terms of Trade – Exports Volume (QoQ) (Q4) increased from -3.0% to 0.0%
Terms of Trade – Imports Prices (Q4) remain the same at 3.8%
Terms of Trade Index (QoQ) (Q4) decreased from 0.7% to -1.0%
Some economic news from today
India:
Nikkei Markit Manufacturing PMI (Feb) increased from 54.0 to 54.9
Exports (USD) (Feb) decreased from 34.50B to 33.81B
Imports (USD) increased from 51.93B to 55.01B
Trade Balance increased from 17.42B to 21.19B
Singapore:
Manufacturing PMI (Feb) decreased from 50.6 to 50.2
EUROPE/EMEA:
Sterling rose against a weakening euro on Wednesday, with investors focusing on market bets on UK and eurozone rate hikes amid concerns about the economic impact of the war in Ukraine. The pound edged higher also versus a rising dollar while investors continued to rush into safe-haven assets.
The European Union said on Wednesday it was excluding seven Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system, but stopped short of including those handling energy payments, in the latest sanctions imposed on Russia. Russia can still send oil and gas to Britain despite a ban on the country’s ships visiting British ports, the Department for Transport (DfT) said. Sterling rose 0.4% against the single currency to 83.15 pence. The pound was up 0.1% against the dollar to USD 1.3341.
The major Europe stock markets had a green day:
- CAC 40 increased 101.53 points or 1.59% to 6,498.02
- FTSE 100 increased 99.36 points or 1.36% to 7,429.56
- DAX 30 increased 95.26 points or 0.69% to 14,000.11
The major Europe currency markets had a mixed day today:
- EURUSD decreased 0.00356 or -0.32% to 1.10943
- GBPUSD increased 0.00253 or 0.19% to 1.33536
- USDCHF increased 0.00346 or 0.38% to 0.92222
Some economic news from Europe today:
UK:
Nationwide HPI (YoY) increased from 11.2% to 12.6%
Nationwide HPI (MoM) increased from 0.8% to 1.7%
Norway:
Current Account (Q4) increased from 156.1B to 269.5B
France:
French Government Budget Balance (Jan) increased from -170.7B to -15.9B
Spain:
Spanish Unemployment Change decreased from 17.2K to -11.4K
Germany:
German Unemployment Change (Feb) increased from -48K to -33K
German Unemployment Rate (Feb) decreased from 5.1% to 5.0%
German Unemployment (Feb) decreased from 2.345M to 2.312M
German Unemployment n.s.a. (Feb) decreased from 2.462M to 2.428M
Euro Zone:
Core CPI (YoY) increased from 2.3% to 2.7%
Core CPI (MoM) increased from -0.9% to 0.5%
CPI (MoM) increased from 0.3% to 0.9%
CPI (YoY) (Feb) increased from 5.1% to 5.8%
CPI, n.s.a (Feb) increased from 110.70 to 111.70
HICP ex Energy & Food (YoY) (Feb) increased from 2.4% to 2.9%
HICP ex Energy and Food (MoM) increased from -0.5% to 0.6%
US/AMERICAS:
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated what the markets have already priced in – rate hikes are coming albeit at a slower pace than expected before the war in Ukraine began. Analysts initially expected a hawkish 50 basis point rise, while the new forecast is 25 basis points. “The near-term effects on the U.S. economy of the invasion of Ukraine, the ongoing war, the sanctions, and of events to come, remain highly uncertain,” Powell stated this Wednesday. “Making appropriate monetary policy in this environment requires a recognition that the economy evolves in unexpected ways. We will need to be nimble in responding to incoming data and the evolving outlook.” The central bank is closely monitoring the war’s impact on the US economy and will make adjustments accordingly.
US job creation in February exceeded expectations after rising by 475,000 positions. ADP also significantly revised its January report from 301,000 positions to 509,000, which brings the count closer to the Labor Department’s total of 467,000 for the first month of the year. This is an indication of what to expect on Friday when the BLS nonfarm payrolls report is revealed.
US Market Closings:
- Dow advanced 596.4 points or 1.79% to 33,891.35
- S&P 500 advanced 80.28 points or 1.86% to 4,386.54
- Nasdaq advanced 219.56 points or 1.62% to 13,752.02
- Russell 2000 advanced 50.37 points or 2.51% to 2,058.87
Canada Market Closings:
- TSX Composite advanced 251.13 points or 1.2% to 21,255.64
- TSX 60 advanced 17.43 points or 1.37% to 1,286.08
Brazil Market Closing:
- Bovespa advanced 2,031.67 points or 1.8% to 115,173.61
ENERGY:
The oil markets had a green day today:
- Crude Oil increased 5.83 USD/BBL or 5.64% to 109.2400
- Brent increased 6.07 USD/BBL or 5.78% to 111.0400
- Natural gas increased 0.186 USD/MMBtu or 4.07% to 4.7590
- Gasoline increased 0.1354 USD/GAL or 4.38% to 3.2241
- Heating oil increased 0.2701 USD/GAL or 8.57% to 3.4202
The above data was collected around 12:59 EST on Wednesday
- Top commodity gainers: Wheat (5.86%) and Cheese (6.24%), Heating Oil (8.57%), Coal (32.89%)
- Top commodity losers: Soybeans (-1.73%), Coffee (-3.27%), Cotton(-2.05%) and Oat(-4.24%)
The above data was collected around 13:06 EST on Wednesday.
BONDS:
Japan 0.1720%(+2.4bp), US 2’s 1.49% (+0.159%), US 10’s 1.8336% (+11.8bps); US 30’s 2.19% (+0.086%), Bunds 0.025% (+9.6bp), France 0.481% (+13.1bp), Italy 1.558% (+16.4bp), Turkey 23.26% (+20bp), Greece 2.3690% (+1.4bp), Portugal 0.859% (+12.5bp); Spain 1.011% (+16.3bp) and UK Gilts 1.275% (+16.6bp).
