During the referendum on Sunday, 93% of the people in Crimea chose to rejoin Russia. The international community immediately stated that the votes were not legal as they were made under military intervention. As expected, sanctions soon followed. However, they were much milder than expected and with the absence of violence it sparked demand for more risk averse assets. Traders returned to the stock market and at the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones had gained 1.13%, the S&P 500 had gained 0.96%, and the Nasdaq had gained 0.81%. Markets in Asia were higher as sentiment lifted. The Nikkei gained 0.94% as the Yen weakened against the Dollar and the Hang Seng added 0.5%. The US Federal Reserve will begin their two day monetary policy meeting today, the first with Janet Yellen as Chairwoman. Investors expect this to be the third meeting where the Fed will scale back the monetary stimulus by another $10 billion. European stocks have opened lower in anticipation of the meeting and ahead of data from Europe. The European and German ZEW Economic Sentiment will both be released at 10am (GMT).
WTI declined due to speculation that the sanctions placed on Russia are unlikely to interrupt supply. Russia and Europe are interdependent; Europe relies on exports from Russia while Russia relies on the income it provides. The price is now rising slightly as protestors in Libya have shut a pipeline, lowering supply. Gold prices have also fallen as investors see less need for safe haven assets. The metal is also pulling back ahead of the Federal Reserve Meeting. U.S. data has once again turned positive adding to the speculation that bad data was a result of the bad weather rather than weakness in the economy. Traders should focus on U.S. data later today including Building Permits and Core CPI at 12.30pm (GMT) as well as a speech from Putin who is set to address Russia’s parliament later on.
Today’s Main Events:
10.00 GMT: EUR – ZEW Economic Sentiment – rates the relative six-month economic outlook for the euro zone.
10.00 GMT: EUR – German ZEW Economic Sentiment – gauges the six-month economic outlook
12.30 GMT: USD – Building Permits – measures the change in the number of new building permits issued by the government. Building permits are a key indicator of demand in the housing market.
12.30 GMT: USD – Core CPI – measures the changes in the price of goods and services, excluding food and energy.
15.40 GMT: CAD – BoC Gov Poloz Speaks – Due to speak at the Chamber of Commerce, in Halifax
17.45 GMT: GBP – BoE Gov Carney Speaks – Due to speak at the Annual Mais Lecture, in London
March 18, 2014 – Daily Market News
Today’s Hot Assets: EUR, USD, Gold
During the referendum on Sunday, 93% of the people in Crimea chose to rejoin Russia. The international community immediately stated that the votes were not legal as they were made under military intervention. As expected, sanctions soon followed. However, they were much milder than expected and with the absence of violence it sparked demand for more risk averse assets. Traders returned to the stock market and at the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones had gained 1.13%, the S&P 500 had gained 0.96%, and the Nasdaq had gained 0.81%. Markets in Asia were higher as sentiment lifted. The Nikkei gained 0.94% as the Yen weakened against the Dollar and the Hang Seng added 0.5%. The US Federal Reserve will begin their two day monetary policy meeting today, the first with Janet Yellen as Chairwoman. Investors expect this to be the third meeting where the Fed will scale back the monetary stimulus by another $10 billion. European stocks have opened lower in anticipation of the meeting and ahead of data from Europe. The European and German ZEW Economic Sentiment will both be released at 10am (GMT).
WTI declined due to speculation that the sanctions placed on Russia are unlikely to interrupt supply. Russia and Europe are interdependent; Europe relies on exports from Russia while Russia relies on the income it provides. The price is now rising slightly as protestors in Libya have shut a pipeline, lowering supply. Gold prices have also fallen as investors see less need for safe haven assets. The metal is also pulling back ahead of the Federal Reserve Meeting. U.S. data has once again turned positive adding to the speculation that bad data was a result of the bad weather rather than weakness in the economy. Traders should focus on U.S. data later today including Building Permits and Core CPI at 12.30pm (GMT) as well as a speech from Putin who is set to address Russia’s parliament later on.
Today’s Main Events:
10.00 GMT: EUR – ZEW Economic Sentiment – rates the relative six-month economic outlook for the euro zone.
10.00 GMT: EUR – German ZEW Economic Sentiment – gauges the six-month economic outlook
12.30 GMT: USD – Building Permits – measures the change in the number of new building permits issued by the government. Building permits are a key indicator of demand in the housing market.
12.30 GMT: USD – Core CPI – measures the changes in the price of goods and services, excluding food and energy.
15.40 GMT: CAD – BoC Gov Poloz Speaks – Due to speak at the Chamber of Commerce, in Halifax
17.45 GMT: GBP – BoE Gov Carney Speaks – Due to speak at the Annual Mais Lecture, in London
Related Posts: