Spreadex Market Update

Stocks Tank as SVB Scrambles to Cover Losses



Equities Hurt By Fresh Banking Woes

Equities prices were sharply lower in the US yesterday with the Down sinking by more than 2.3% on the day, while the S&P and the Nasdaq both fell by almost 3%. Should today’s US jobs data confirm further strength in February, the sell-off is at risk of accelerating further into next week’s US CPI data. While we saw heavy losses in the UK too, European stocks held up better with the DAX and the CAC40 both holding near highs. The Nikkei was unable to fight off pressure, however, with the index losing around 2.5% from mid-week highs, despite a broadly supportive March BOJ meeting which saw policy kept unchanged and Ueda confirmed as incoming BOJ chief.

GBP Rallies on GDP Beat

GBP has been the strongest performer over the European open on Friday, boosted by better-than-forecasts monthly GDP data. The UK economy was seen growing 0.3% in January, above the 0.1% reading the market was looking for. The services sector in particular saw a healthy rebound from December’s -0.8% reading, bouncing back to 0.5%.

JPY Falls on Dovish BOJ Meeting

JPY has been among the weaker performers so far today. Despite the risk-off tone, which typically supports JPY via increased safe-haven demand, the currency is weaker following the latest BOJ meeting. The last meeting for former BOJ governor Kuroda saw the bank holding policy unchanged with no signal of any likely shift in the near-term. With incoming Ueda having signalled a willingness to maintain policy for now, JPY remains weaker against other currencies being boosted by hawkish central bank expectations.

Gold Holds Up – Crude Crumbles

In the metals and commodities space, we’ve seen some disparity kicking over the last 24 hours with gold prices turning higher while silver prices remain pressured. Today’s US jobs data will be key for setting direction into next week with any fresh USD strength likely to see both metals turn lower again. Crude prices remain lower on Friday, continuing with the run of losses since Tuesday. Crude futures are now down around 7.2% from the week’s highs and look vulnerable to further losses today if USD moves higher.

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