DAILY MARKET REPORT 15 APRIL
EQUITIES
Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Thursday trade. Mainland Chinese stocks slipped, with the Shanghai composite down -1.18%, while the Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined -0.96%. The India’s S&P BSE Sensex also slipped -0.44%.
Elsewhere in Japan, the Nikkei 225 advanced 0.12% while the South Korea’s KOSPI advanced 0.37%. The Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.53% and Singapore’s Straits Times index rose 0.11%.
Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 shed 0.41% to close at 4,124.66 while the Nasdaq Composite declined about 1% to finish its trading day at 13,857.84. The Dow Jones Industrial Average nudged 53.62 points higher, closing at 33,730.89.
OIL
Oil prices were lower on Thursday though holding near 1-month highs after futures jumped overnight after the IEA upgraded forecasts for oil demand as major economies recover from the pandemic.
The international benchmark Brent crude futures traded at $66.58 per barrel, and U.S. crude futures traded at $63.08 per barrel.
The oil futures climbed nearly 5% overnight, as the Brent closed at $66.58 while WTI ended at $63.15 per barrel.
CURRENCIES
U.S. bond yields pulled back from last month’s surge with investors are keeping an eye on Treasury yields for direction with a potential market panic about accelerating inflation seen as the biggest risk to sentiment. The 10-year U.S. bond yields eased to 1.636%, well below a 14-month peak of 1.776% hit late March, reducing the dollar’s yield attraction.
The U.S. dollar was on track for a fourth consecutive day of fall against its major counterparts. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, dipped to a 4-week low of 91.571 overnight and last stood at 91.69.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that the U.S. central bank will reduce its monthly bond purchases before it commits to an interest rate increase, a scenario many investors have regarded as a given.
Bitcoin stood near a record high hit on Wednesday of $64,829.14, to trade at $62,930 on Thursday, as cryptocurrency platform Coinbase made its debut in Nasdaq in direct listing.
GOLD
The spot gold rose to trade at $1,739.50 an ounce and advanced to $1,739.60 per ounce for gold futures. Previously closed at $1,736.40 and $1,736.3, respectively.
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Stocks in Asia-Pacific were on defensive on Thursday, following mixed cues from Wall Street overnight where a sharp sell-off in Coinbase hit tech shares, though the sentiment lifted by as fears over U.S. high inflation subsided.
Coinbase was sold off on its listing day, dragging the Nasdaq lower. Coinbase’s listing coincided with a record price for Bitcoin, which rose to just under $65,000 but the euphoria proved to be short-lived as the stock fell nearly 20% from its opening level to trade at $328.
Figures from EIA showed that U.S. crude inventories were down by 5.9 million barrels last week, while gasoline increased to 8.9 million bpd, the highest since August.
To date, number of confirmed worldwide cases for COVID-19 pandemic has surpassed 138.25 million, recording more than 2.97 million fatality globally.
TECHNICAL OUTLOOK
[USDJPY]
Important Levels to Watch for Today:
- Resistance line of 109.132 and 109.276.
- Support line of 108.667 and 108.524.
Commentary/ Reason:
Against the Japanese yen, the dollar slipped for a fourth day to 108.875.
The dollar has been losing steam a bit in line with falls in U.S. bond yields as the Fed has maintained it dovish stance. Repeated assurances from Fed officials that it will keep interest rates low have helped stabilise U.S. bonds, especially at the short end of the market.
Weakness in Japan’s Nikkei Stock Index also sparked some safe-haven buying of the yen.
