Global Markets Roundup: 27 Mar 2024

On Wednesday, APAC markets showcased a mixed performance, marked by a surge in Japanese stocks against the backdrop of a weakening yen. Concurrently, Chinese equities experienced a dip, underscoring a lack of definitive direction in regional trading. This scenario unfolded within a truncated trading week due to holidays, culminating in heightened anticipation for the release of a crucial U.S. inflation report.

The Nikkei NI225 index of Japanese equities exhibited resilience, recording a notable uptick of 0.93%, reaching 40,775.62 as of 0155 GMT. This resurgence propelled the index closer to its recent all-time peak of 41,087.75, attained just the previous Friday. Conversely, the Hong Kong Hang Seng HSI and mainland Chinese blue chips 3399300 experienced a modest setback, each witnessing a decline of about 0.4%, erasing gains from the preceding session. This fluctuation contributed to the mixed performance of MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares (.MIAP00000PUS), which posted a marginal increase of 0.11%. However, this figure reversed to a 0.22% decline upon excluding Japanese shares (.MIAPJ0000PUS). Analysts attributed this choppy market behavior to various factors, including quarterly rebalancing flows and the anticipation surrounding two significant events: the release of the U.S. Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge and public remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, both scheduled for Friday amidst market closures for holidays. In the pre-market in Europe the Euro Stoxx 50 Futures point to lower open.

In FX, global currency dynamics reflected nuanced movements. The yen USDJPY, experienced a brief decline, trading at 151.97 per dollar, marking a 0.2% decrease and reaching its lowest point since the mid-1990s. Simultaneously, the yuan USDCNY, weakened to 7.2285 per dollar despite an initial robust adjustment of its trading band. Conversely, the New Zealand dollar, NZDUSD, saw a 0.2% decrease to $0.5988, influenced partly by a downward adjustment in the government's economic growth forecasts. Meanwhile, recent Australian data released on the same day revealed that inflation remained stagnant at a two-year low of 3.4% in February. This data reinforced market speculation that the next policy move regarding interest rates in Australia would likely be a reduction. Consequently, the Australian dollar, AUDUSD, depreciated by 0.3% to $0.6512. The euro, EURUSD, trading at $1.0829, currently maintains a position within a range it has sustained for approximately a year. However, it has experienced a 1.9% decline over the quarter. Similarly, the Swiss franc, USDCHF, still reeling from a recent unexpected rate cut in Switzerland, depreciated by approximately 0.5% against the dollar, reaching a four-month low of 0.9042 on Tuesday. Notably, it has encountered a 7% decline in the first quarter of the year. Conversely, the U.S. dollar index, DXY, has appreciated by 3% over the quarter, reaching 104.4. Sterling, symbolized as GBPUSD, remained stable at $1.2618. Over the quarter, it demonstrated relative steadiness, with only a marginal 0.8% decrease.

In commodities, crude oil prices experienced a second consecutive day of decline, driven by reports of a surge in U.S. crude stockpiles and indications that major producers are unlikely to alter their output policies at an upcoming technical meeting. Brent crude futures for May (BRN1!) dropped by 0.8% to $85.56 a barrel, while the more actively traded June contract (LCOc2) declined by 0.7% to $85.03. Similarly, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for May delivery (CL1!) fell by 0.7%, settling at $81.07. Gold eased marginally by 0.1%, hovering around $2,176, as it sought a short-term support level following its recent record surge to $2,222.39. LME copper HG1! shed 0.5% to $8,822 a ton, aluminium ALI1! declined 0.5% to $2,291.50, nickel NICKEL1! edged down 0.2% at $16,605, lead LEAD1! fell 0.3% to $2,013.50 and tin FTIN1! lost 0.2% to $27,400. The most-active wheat contract on the CBOT ZW1! was down 0.8% at $5.39-1/4 a bushel by 0428 GMT, while CBOT soybeans ZS1! fell 0.6% to $11.92 a bushel and corn ZC1! slipped 0.8% to $4.29 a bushel. July London cocoa C2! gained 105 pounds, or 1.4%, to 7,613 pounds per metric ton after climbing to a record 8,009 pounds. May arabica coffee KC1! rose 1.3% at $1.8805 per lb.

Looking ahead today, markets anticipate France Consumer Confidence, EU Economic Sentiment, Mexico Balance of Trade, US Crude Oil Inventories, and later today Russia GDP YoY.

You can view all markets data and charts here.

General news - Information source from multiple newswires.

The article and the data is for general information use only, not advice!

The Trade Academy Team

Rating: Mixed Outlook

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