World Markets
17 December 2021
World Markets at a glance for Currency, Equity, Commodity, Bonds, Crypto Currency, Financial News & Major Economic Events.
- Dollar falls for second day as markets sort central bank moves
- Asia-Pacific markets trade mostly lower following overnight losses on Wall Street
- Bank of England hikes rates as pandemic exits diverge
- European Central Bank dials back stimulus in tense meeting
- Oil rises around 2% on strong U.S. demand, upbeat Fed outlook
Currency
The U.S. dollar fell for a second day on Thursday as markets moved toward risk while sorting a raft of central bank policy statements for clues to coming differences in interest rates and economic strength. The dollar index against major currencies was down 0.2% for the day in morning trading in New York after meetings of central banks including those of Europe, England, Switzerland and Norway.
The British pound rose as much as 0.8% on the dollar after the Bank of England became the first major central bank to raise interest rates since the beginning of the pandemic. The euro climbed more than 0.3% for a second day after the European Central Bank said it would continue to cut its bond purchases.
The Swiss National Bank kept its ultra-low interest rates unchanged while the Norges Bank raised its benchmark rate.
The SNB kept its key rate at -0.75% and the Norges Bank raised its benchmark interest rate to 0.50% and said more hikes will likely follow next year
Equity
Asia-Pacific markets traded mostly lower on Friday, following overnight losses on Wall Street, as investors assessed monetary policy decisions from two key central banks.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.92% while the Topix index slid 0.7%. Chinese mainland shares also tumbled, with the Shanghai composite falling 0.59% while the Shenzhen component shed 1%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index slipped 0.79% while the tech-focused Hang Seng Tech Index dropped 2.14%. South Korea’s Kospi traded near flat, up just 0.06% after erasing earlier losses. In Australia, shares bucked the downward trend with the benchmark ASX 200 gaining 0.68%.
Bank of England Interest Rate
Britain became the first G7 economy to hike interest rates since the onset of the pandemic on Thursday, with the U.S. Federal Reserve also signaling plans to tighten in 2022 but the European Central Bank only slightly reining in stimulus.
Bank of England policymakers raised the benchmark Bank Rate on Thursday to 0.25% from 0.1%, confounding economists’ expectations that it would stay on hold. The BoE said inflation was set to hit 6% in April, three times the BoE’s target level.
European Central Bank Interest Rate
The European Central Bank took another small step in rolling back crisis-era stimulus on Thursday but promised to hold down borrowing costs next year and even kept the door open to restarting emergency support.
the ECB will end emergency bond buys next March but temporarily double the pace of its longer-running Asset Purchase Programme (APP) to ease the transition.
Oil
Oil prices rose around 2% on Thursday, as record U.S. implied demand, falling crude stockpiles and an upbeat economic outlook from the Federal Reserve trumped fears of the Omicron coronavirus variant hurting global consumption.
Brent crude oil rose $1.14, or 1.5%, to settle at $75.02 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $1.51, or 2.1%, to settle at $72.38 a barrel, a 2.13 percent gain.
Indian Rupee
The Indian rupee is expected to decline against the dollar amid lackluster risk appetite on concerns over the policy outlook of major central banks to ward off the inflation threat.
The rupee is tipped at around 76.15-76.20 in initial trades after slipping to 76.09 yesterday. At open yesterday, the currency had fallen to this year’s worst level of 76.32 following the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy meeting outcome.
Economic Events
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Disclaimer : All information in this report is collected from various sites on internet. Although we have taken all precautions for correct representation of data however we do not take any responsibility for any errors and omissions. The technical analysis and views expressed is authors own views. We are not responsible for any losses on account of following the same.
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