EQUITIES
Shares in Asia-Pacific were mostly lower on the last trading day of March, a month marked by global geopolitical and economic uncertainty after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The mainland Chinese stocks declined, with the Shanghai composite shed 0.60% while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index slumped 1.26%.
Elsewhere, the Nikkei 225 in Japan slipped 0.65%, the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia shed 0.20%, and Singapore’s FTSE Straits Times Index was down 0.40%. The South Korea’s Kospi meanwhile climbed 0.26%.
OIL
Oil prices plunged more than $5 a barrel on Thursday on news that the Biden administration is weighing releasing some oil from its strategic reserves for several months. The U.S. President Joe Biden will give remarks later Thursday regarding his administration's actions aimed at lowering gasoline prices that have risen to records following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Brent futures were down 5.4%, to $107.08 a barrel and US WTI futures were down 4.7%, to $102.39 a barrel.
The prices settled around 3% on Wednesday, driven by supply concerns as peace talks between Russia and Ukraine appeared to have stalled.
CURRENCIES
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 97.836 as it struggles to recover after slipped to a near one-month low in the previous session.
US Treasury yields fell while a key part of the yield curve steepened on Wednesday, unwinding recent moves betting that aggressive Federal Reserve policy tightening could send the world's largest economy into recession.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury notes, which is more sensitive to the outlook for long-term growth, was last at 2.331% after hitting 2.56% on Monday, the highest since May 2019. Two-year Treasury yields, which track policy expectations, were last at 2.2922% and have climbed more than 150 basis points for the quarter — the steepest such rise since 1984 on expectations of quick-fire interest rate hikes.
In cryptocurrency markets, bitcoin was at $47,060 not too far off its year-to-date peak of $48,234 hit earlier this week.
GOLD
Gold fell on Thursday but were set for the biggest quarterly gain since September 2020, as the Russia-Ukraine conflict lifted bullion's appeal.
Spot gold was down 0.4% at $1,924.40 per ounce by and U.S. gold futures were down 0.5% at $1,928.70. The metal has gained about 5.6% so far in the quarter and 1% in the month.
Spot silver fell to $24.78 per ounce, but on course for its best quarterly rise since June 2021. Platinum shed 0.6% to $990.20 but was set for its biggest quarterly gain since March 2021.
Palladium was down to $2,250.00 but was on course for its sharpest quarterly jump since September 2020.Though the auto-catalyst metal has tumbled about 40% since scaling an all-time peak on March 7 as supply concerns eased.
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Shares retreated on Thursday, as it reacted to the weak manufacturing data from China, waning signs of progress for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, and against a backdrop of a hawkish Federal Reserve curbing economic growth.
Shares in Asia on Thursday were hurt by data showing that activity in China's the factory and services sectors swung into negative territory in March, contracting simultaneously for the first time since the peak of the country's COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. Chinese official manufacturing PMI for March came in at 49.5, lower than February’s reading of 50.2.
Investors also weighed the impact of reports that Russian forces were moving to attack Ukraine's Donbas region, a day after it promised to scale back military action in Ukraine.
Oil prices dove as the United States weighed a massive draw from its reserves to rein in surging fuel prices.
The U.S. also reported its final GDP data overnight, revising its Q4 growth rate to 6.9%, down from an earlier estimate of 7.0%, while economists had expected an upward revision to 7.1%. Private payrolls data meanwhile showed labor market rose by 455,000 jobs last month after advancing 486,000 in February, the ADP National Employment Report showed on Wednesday.
Upcoming data releases include Q4 U.K. GDP and the euro area unemployment rate for February. NATO meanwhile is set to release the military alliance’s annual report and OPEC+ will hold a ministerial meeting.
