Asian stocks erased earlier gains amid cautious trading before quarter-end and the release of the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure later this week. MSCI’s Asian equity gauge was little changed following a two-day decline. US stock futures were flat after the S&P 500 Index fell Monday. South Korea’s Kospi outperformed, supported by local chip shares.
The offshore yuan strengthened for a second day after China’s central bank reinforced its support for the currency. The yen swung between gains and losses after dropping to a four-month low against the dollar last week. There are plenty of reasons for investors to be cautious given the number of risk events in coming days. The US government will publish its personal consumption expenditures price index on Good Friday when local markets will be closed. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is due to speak on the same day. There’s also uncertainty surrounding the yen, with Japan’s Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki saying Tuesday the government will take appropriate steps against excessive currency moves, without ruling out any measures. Dollar-yen is likely to stay above 150, according to Mitul Kotecha, head of foreign exchange and emerging market macro strategy Asia at Barclays Bank Plc in Singapore. Treasuries edged higher in Asian trade, while the dollar weakened against most of its Group-of-10 peers. China’s central bank reinforced its support for the yuan by strengthening its daily reference rate for the managed currency by the most since January. The People’s Bank of China shifted its fixing by 0.1% with traders still on tenterhooks after the yuan sank to its weakest since November on Friday.
A sense of prudence has prevailed among investors this week as concern about a disconnect between earnings expectations and share prices have grown. Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists were the latest to warn it’ll be hard to justify lofty valuations if profit acceleration fails to materialize. In a sign of how overheated the stock market has been, the S&P 500 finished last week 14% above its 200-day moving average. Still, the combination of healthy US economic data, expectations the Fed will cut rates and optimism about artificial intelligence have all driven the S&P 500 up almost 10% this year. In other markets, oil was little changed after the biggest gain in a week, with OPEC+ set to affirm its policy of production cuts amid tensions in the Middle East and Russia. Gold hovered near a record high. US After Hours NARI +6.2% and APPF +4.7% jumping on index change; WPRT -11.6% down on earnings.
Nikkei -0.04% Hang Seng +1.32% CSI +0.56% Shanghai +0.19% Shenzen +0.25%
Eur$ 1.0850 CNH 7.2413 CNY 7.2176 JPY 151.32 GBP 1.2658 CHF 0.8998 RUB 92.9000 TRY 32.1721 WTI$ 81.90 -0.05% Gold 2,172 BTC 70,576 -0.52% ETH 3,640 +0.30%
S&P +0.19% Nasdaq +0.28% EuroStoxx +0.06% FTSE -0.25% Dax +0.10% SMI +0.29%
Macro :
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- Top Pictet Fund Manager Sees Biotech Stocks Joining AI-Euphoria
- European Telecom Stocks Not Yet Value as Media Priced for Growth
Keep an eye on :
Keep an eye on :
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- BALN SW : Baloise FY Profit Misses Estimates
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- CABK SM : CaixaBank Cuts Telefonica Stake With Equity Swap Settlement
- ALCRB FP : Carbios joins Paris Good Fashion to accelerate textile circularity and contribute to more sustainable fashion
- CO FP : Casino to Issue New Shares as Part of Safeguard Plan
- CO FP : Casino to Issue New Shares as Part of Safeguard Plan
- CLNX SM :
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- DBHN GY : Deutsche Bahn Reaches Deal With Train Drivers, Ending Strikes
- ENGI FP : CFE, Engie to Double Yucatan Pipeline Capacity: Economista
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- HBH GY : Hornbach Holding FY Sales Meets Estimates
- ISP IM : Intesa CEO Messina Total Compensation for 2023 Amounts to €7.2m
- KWS GY : KWS Sells South American Corn Business, Breeding Licenses to GDM
- LOGIB SS : Logistea Offering of 18.9m Shares Prices at SEK13.20/Share
- MASI US : Masimo considering JV for consumer division: WSJ
- P911 GY : Porsche's 911, eMacan Bid to Expand Margin, Close Gap to Ferrari
- PRYME NO : Pryme Offering of 12.7m Shares Prices at EU0.95/Share
- QDT FP : Quadient FY Net Sales Misses Estimates
- RWAY IM : RAI Way 4Q Operating Profit Misses Est.; Core Rev. €316m in '27
- RUI FP : Plantations des Terres Rouges Raises Rubis Stake to 5.03%: AMF
- SBBB SS : SBB CEO Leiv Synnes Buys 50,000 D Shares in Company
- SKAB SS : Skanska Signs Contract Amendment Worth About SEK2.2b
- STLAM IM : Italy Contacted Tesla on Truck Production in Country: Sole
- TE FP : Technip Energies and LanzaTech Selected by the US Department of Energy to Receive $200M Investment for Breakthrough, Replicable
- TEF SM : Spanish Government Buys €698 Million Stake in Telefonica
- TSLA US : Italy Contacted Tesla on Truck Production in Country: Sole
- VLA FP : Valneva Starts Phase 1 Trial of Second-Generation Zika Vaccine
- VOD LN : Vodafone, Three UK Merger Looks Unlikely Without Strong Remedies
- WAC GY : Wacker Neuson Sees 2024 Revenue EU2.4B to EU2.6B, Est. EU2.48B