At the end of last week western allies decided to place more sanctions on Russia in an attempt to ease the geopolitical situation in Ukraine. Asset freezes and visa bans have so far been placed on many Russians and Ukrainians and following the meeting at The Hague yesterday, a decision was made to suspend Russia from the G-8. Some banks are now saying that Russia could enter a recession which could lead to a slowdown in global recovery. U.S. stocks declined yesterday as weak Manufacturing PMI data signaled a slowdown in American manufacturing. Losses in companies from Netflix to Facebook also dragged indexes lower. At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones was down 0.16%, the S&P 500 was down 0.49% and the Nasdaq was down 1.18%. Stocks in Asia also declined. The Nikkei lost 0.36% as the Yen strengthened slightly against the Dollar and the Hang Seng lost 0.45% as skepticism emerged around hoped-for stimulus measures. European stocks opened higher as investors await data later in the day. The German Ifo Business Climate Index and Business Expectations will both be released at 9am (GMT).
WTI Crude is trading choppy due to mixed data. The situation in Ukraine is pushing prices higher whilst weak data points from China counteracted this movement. Today, it is again inching higher as an oil spill has caused a U.S. seaport to close. The Houston Ship Canal was also closed due to a collision which puts some bullish pressure on the commodity. Traders should watch stock data from the API later in the day (8.30 pm GMT). Gold reached a five week low as the market continued to react to news that the Federal Reserve could increase interest rates as soon as April 2015. Today, the yellow metal is climbing as the situation in Ukraine is once again boosting demand for safe haven assets. Gold is also climbing ahead of economic data coming later in the day. Traders should focus on U.S. CB Consumer Confidence and New Homes Sales being released at 2pm (GMT)
Today’s Main Events:
09.00 GMT: EUR – German Ifo Business Climate Index – rates the current German business climate and measures expectations for the next six months
09.30 GMT: GBP – CPI – measures the change in the price of goods and services from the perspective of the consumer.
14.00 GMT: USD – CB Consumer Confidence – measures the level of consumer confidence in economic activity.
14.00 GMT: USD – New Home Sales - measures the annualized number of new single-family homes that were sold during the previous month
16.00 GMT: EUR – ECB President Draghi Speaks – Due to speak at Sciences Po, in Paris
23.00 GMT: USD – FOMC Member Plosser Speaks – Due to speak about the economic outlook and monetary policy at the Money Marketeers of New York University. Audience questions expected
March 25, 2014 – Daily Market News
Today’s Hot Assets: EUR, GBP, USD
At the end of last week western allies decided to place more sanctions on Russia in an attempt to ease the geopolitical situation in Ukraine. Asset freezes and visa bans have so far been placed on many Russians and Ukrainians and following the meeting at The Hague yesterday, a decision was made to suspend Russia from the G-8. Some banks are now saying that Russia could enter a recession which could lead to a slowdown in global recovery. U.S. stocks declined yesterday as weak Manufacturing PMI data signaled a slowdown in American manufacturing. Losses in companies from Netflix to Facebook also dragged indexes lower. At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones was down 0.16%, the S&P 500 was down 0.49% and the Nasdaq was down 1.18%. Stocks in Asia also declined. The Nikkei lost 0.36% as the Yen strengthened slightly against the Dollar and the Hang Seng lost 0.45% as skepticism emerged around hoped-for stimulus measures. European stocks opened higher as investors await data later in the day. The German Ifo Business Climate Index and Business Expectations will both be released at 9am (GMT).
WTI Crude is trading choppy due to mixed data. The situation in Ukraine is pushing prices higher whilst weak data points from China counteracted this movement. Today, it is again inching higher as an oil spill has caused a U.S. seaport to close. The Houston Ship Canal was also closed due to a collision which puts some bullish pressure on the commodity. Traders should watch stock data from the API later in the day (8.30 pm GMT). Gold reached a five week low as the market continued to react to news that the Federal Reserve could increase interest rates as soon as April 2015. Today, the yellow metal is climbing as the situation in Ukraine is once again boosting demand for safe haven assets. Gold is also climbing ahead of economic data coming later in the day. Traders should focus on U.S. CB Consumer Confidence and New Homes Sales being released at 2pm (GMT)
Today’s Main Events:
09.00 GMT: EUR – German Ifo Business Climate Index – rates the current German business climate and measures expectations for the next six months
09.30 GMT: GBP – CPI – measures the change in the price of goods and services from the perspective of the consumer.
14.00 GMT: USD – CB Consumer Confidence – measures the level of consumer confidence in economic activity.
14.00 GMT: USD – New Home Sales - measures the annualized number of new single-family homes that were sold during the previous month
16.00 GMT: EUR – ECB President Draghi Speaks – Due to speak at Sciences Po, in Paris
23.00 GMT: USD – FOMC Member Plosser Speaks – Due to speak about the economic outlook and monetary policy at the Money Marketeers of New York University. Audience questions expected
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