27/02/2023
Today’s Announcements & News
Asia
The MSCI World index fell 2.7% last week, its biggest weekly fall since September, while Asian stocks ex-Japan fell almost as much for a fourth straight weekly loss and the steepest since October.Tech stocks are in the firing line more than most. The Hang Seng tech index is down 17% in the past month, hit by higher rates and tighter financial conditions as well as profit-taking following an explosive 77% rebound from the low in October.One consequence of the market’s Fed rethink is the sharp rise in bond yields and the dollar. Many Asian currencies are being pushed back toward their recent lows, boosting inflationary pressures across the region and making dollar-denominated debt servicing more expensive.China’s yuan has 7.00/$ in its sights again, the yen and won are at their lowest this year – domestic Japanese and South Korean monetary policy factors are at play here too – and the Indian rupee is near its all-time low around 83.00 per dollar.
United States
U.S. equity futures were little changed Sunday evening after the major averages posted their biggest weekly losses of the year and ahead of another big week in retail earnings.Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 16 points, or 0.04%. S&P 500 futures eased 0.01% and Nasdaq 100 futures dipped slightly below the flat lineThe major averages Friday ended the day lower and posted their biggest weekly declines for 2023. The Dow finished lower by 3%, its fourth down week in a row. The S&P 500 lost 2.7% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 3.3% for the week.
Commodities
Gold prices dropped to their lowest in eight weeks on Friday, pushed down by a stronger dollar and bond yields as the market braced for more interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve in the coming months.U.S. inflation accelerated while the consumer spending rebounded sharply by 1.8% in January, compared to Reuters forecast of a 1.3% rebound, further reinforcing expectations that the Fed will remain hawkish.
The above analysis is only for the views of market researchers and is for reference only and is not regarded as a specific investment suggestion.
