EQUITIES
On Friday, major benchmark closes as follow:
S&P 500 Index : $2,541.47, down -88.60 points or -3.37%
Dow Jones Industrial Average : $21,636.78, down -915.39 points or -4.06%
Nasdaq Composite Index : $7,502.38, down -295.16 points or -3.79%
European exchanges also recording loss, with London's FTSE 100 down -5.25%, Germany's DAX -3.68% and France's CAC 40 shed -4.23%. Italy's closed -3.15% lower and pan-European Stoxx 600 index loses -3.26% closed Friday.
In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 slumped -4.18%, while South Korea's KOSPI slumped more than -3%. On the opposite, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 increased 2.18%. China's Shanghai Composite was up around 0.26% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained more than 0.5% in early trading.
OIL
Brent crude futures ended the session lower on Friday at $24.93 per barrel, down -5.35% while WTI crude futures for May delivery down -4.82%, to $21.51 per barrel.
Currently, Brent crude is trading at $23.48 per barrel while U.S. benchmark WTI crude trading at $20.48 per barrel, as of writing time (UTC+08.00).
CURRENCIES
The U.S. dollar retreated Friday, compared with a basket of its major peers. The U.S. dollar index was off more than 4% in the week, to stand at 98.31, suffering its biggest fall since 2009 as Federal Reserve currency swaps with other central banks satisfied a shortage of dollars which had driven the index to a three-year high.
Meanwhile, the dollar traded higher against other major currencies in early trade. Dollar rose against MXN (1.54%), NOK (0.84%), RUB (0.73%), CAD (0.63%), EUR (0.36%), GBP (0.32%), DKK (0.34%), SEK (0.31%), CHF (0.2%), and AUD (0.09%).
U.S. dollar also drops against some other currencies, including JPY (-0.50%), NZD (-0.26%), and NCY (-0.09%) at the latest reading.
GOLD
Gold currently trading at $1,614.80 per ounce, while stands around $1,652.80 per ounce for gold futures of writing time.
Silver trading at $1390, platinum trading at $714.00 and palladium trading at $2,190.00.
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Friday that the global economy has now entered a recession that could be as bad or worse than the 2009 downturn and recovery is possible only if nations succeed in containing the coronavirus and limiting the economic damage. The coronavirus pandemic will inflict a deep recession on the world economy, and many major national economies, during the first half of 2020. Lower income countries were being hit hard by the spreading coronavirus, with 81 nations now seeking support from an IMF emergency financing program being used to provide aid.
To date, number of confirmed worldwide cases for COVID-19 pandemic has now reached more than 722,000 today affecting 199 countries and territories around the world, recording more than 34,000 fatality globally.
TECHNICAL OUTLOOK
[XAUUSD]
Price were in uptrend and now trades in accumulation, with resistance level at $1,636 and support level of $1,586.
To open long if price breakout on resistance level (accumulation zone), at targeted price to be at $1,650, where it was 3 weeks before.
