EQUITIES
Shares in Asia-Pacific were higher in Friday trade as investors in the region shrugged Wall Street’s heavy losses overnight.
In its first day of trading after this week's Lunar New Year holidays, the Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index led gains among the region’s major markets, rising 2.71% by the afternoon, helped by financial stocks. Over in mainland China, markets remain closed on Friday for the holidays.
Elsewhere, the Nikkei 225 in Japan recovered from earlier losses as it gained 0.42%. South Korea’s KOSPI jumped 0.98%, and the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia hovered above the flatline.
Overnight on Wall Street, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite plummeting 3.74% to 13,878.82 — its worst day since September 2020. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down about 1.5%, and the S&P 500 index shed more than 2.4%.
OIL
Oil prices climbed on Friday, extending sharp gains in the previous session to a seven-year high as frigid weather across the U.S. threatened to further disrupt fragile oil supply concerns. Geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe and the Middle East have also fuelled oil's gains, which have pushed Brent futures up by 17% and WTI by 20% so far this year.
Both benchmarks were headed for their seventh straight weekly gain.
OPEC+ producers stuck to planned moderate output increases of 400,000 bpd. The group already struggling to meet existing targets and despite pressure from top consumers to raise production more quickly.
The Brent now traded at $91.51 per barrel, and the U.S. crude futures traded at $90.86 per barrel.
Overnight, the Brent futures ends at $91.11 a barrel, while the WTI crude oil prices closed to $90.27 per barrel.
CURRENCIES
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers was at a three-week low of 95.172, having tumbled more than 2% over the week so far- its biggest weekly drop since March 2020.
The yield on 10-year Treasury notes was at 1.834%. The two-year U.S. Treasury yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, was up 4 basis points to 1.196%.
The euro held firm at a three-week high and sterling gained following the hawkish shifts from the ECB and the BoE.
Pressure was once again building on Turkey's lira after annual inflation came in at nearly 50% in January. Russia's rouble also dropped as tensions over Ukraine were fanned by the movement of 3,000 U.S. troops to Eastern Europe.
GOLD
Gold prices were steady on Friday and set for a weekly gain as a weaker U.S. dollar, concerns over stubborn inflation and tensions surrounding Ukraine lifted demand for the safe-haven bullion.
Spot gold was at $1,807.70 per ounce and has gained nearly 0.9% so far this week. U.S. gold futures edged 0.2% higher to $1,807.90.
Spot silver edged up 0.2% to $22.51 per ounce, platinum inched up 0.1% to $1,034.00 and palladium was steady at $2,268.00 per ounce.
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Asian equity markets were higher in Friday trade as investors in the region shrugged heavy losses overnight on Wall Street that saw the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite plunging nearly 4%.
Meta plummeted more than 26% on Thursday, losing more-than-$200 billion of its market capitalisation in what was the largest single day slide in value by a U.S. company, which dragged the Nasdaq down 3.7%, its worst day in 17 months. Trading in technology stocks remains volatile as investors struggle to price in the impact of high inflation and an expected rise in interest rates.
Traders on edge over prospects that interest rates will rise to curb global inflationary pressures. The hawkish shifts from European Central Bank and the Bank of England soured investor sentiment around inflation.
Geopolitical tensions in eastern Europe remains, with Russia accused the U.S. of ramping up tensions and ignoring Moscow's calls to ease a standoff over Ukraine, a day after Washington announced it would send nearly 3,000 extra troops to Poland and Romania. Russia has denied plans of an invasion but has amassed thousands of troops on its border with Ukraine.
