News & Research

06 March 2017

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Currency Markets the dollar fell in Asian trading on Monday, as investors locked in gains after its rise last week on growing expectations of a U.S. interest rate hike later this month. The dollar fell 0.2 percent to 113.88 yen, down from Friday's high of 114.75. The euro fell 0.2 percent to $1.0601, as investors monitored developments in France's election campaign. The Australian dollar fell 0.3 percent to $0.7573 after it skidded nearly 1 percent last week as the greenback climbed on the Fed hike expectations. In contrast with the Fed, the Reserve Bank of Australia is widely expected to maintain its current record-low cash rate of 1.5 percent at its policy meeting on Tuesday. The dollar index fell 0.1 percent to 101.47. 

 Commodities Markets oil prices fell in Asian trade on Monday, wiping out some of the gains of the previous session amid worries lower growth targets in China could cut oil demand and ongoing concern over Russia's compliance with a global deal to cut oil output. Brent crude futures fell 0.4 percent, to $55.70 a barrel after settling 1.5 percent higher in the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 0.4 percent, to $53.10 a barrel after closing the previous session up 1.4 percent. Spot gold was little changed at $1,234.20 per ounce. In other precious metals, spot silver fell 0.5 percent to $17.87 per ounce, while platinum inched lower by 0.1 percent, to $993.50. Palladium was up 0.5 percent at $775.00.

US Equity Markets  the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed out their sixth straight week of gains with a flat session after Janet Yellen signaled the Federal Reserve is set to raise interest rates this month if employment and other economic data hold up. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.01 percent, to 21,005.71, the S&P 500 gained 0.05 percent, to 2,383.12 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.16 percent, to 5,870.75. Macy's lost 4.4 percent after sources said Canada's Hudson's Bay is yet to line up equity financing for a bid more than a month after making an approach. Snap Inc, which rallied Thursday in its debut, jumped another 10.7 percent after NBCUniversal invested $500 million in the parent of Snapchat. 

Bond Markets  benchmark Japanese government bonds edged down slightly on Monday, though the superlong zone firmed as investors awaited an auction of 30-year JGBs.  The benchmark 10-year JGB yield rose 0.5 basis point (bp) to 0.075 percent, while 10-year JGB futures ended down 0.01 point at 150.59. The 20-year yield was down 2 bps at 0.635 percent, and the 30-year JGB yield fell 1.5 bps to 0.835 percent. 

 Asian Equity Markets  Japanese stocks fell on Monday as the yen firmed and as global geopolitical tensions rose after North Korea fired four missiles, three of which landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone. The Nikkei index fell 0.5 percent to 19,385.71 points by mid-morning. The broader Topix shed 0.3 percent to 1,553.77 and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 declined 0.3 percent to 13,907.63. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan was up 0.2 percent but Seoul stocks were down 0.2 percent, hitting their lowest levels since early February at one point. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.37 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.37 percent.