World Markets
19 March 2021
World Markets at a glance for Currency, Equity, Bonds, Commodity, Crypto Currency, Financial News & Major Economic Events
Asia-Pacific markets mostly decline as investors turn cautious
Dollar strengthens amid higher U.S. yields on Fed’s lower-for-longer mantra
Oil slump deepens as Europe faces pandemic lockdowns
Equity
Asia-Pacific markets fell Friday as investor sentiment turned cautious, following an overnight selloff stateside.
Australian shares traded lower, with the benchmark ASX 200 down 0.31% — the index retraced some of its earlier losses of more than 1%. The energy and materials sectors were down 1.39% and 0.98%, respectively, while the heavily-weighted financials subindex was near flat.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan declined 0.86% while the Topix index was down 0.37%. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.89% and the Kosdaq was down 0.16% as tech names sold off. Shares of Samsung Electronics fell 0.97%, SK Hynix declined 2.11% and LG Electronics lost 1.61%.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell 1.16% while Taiwan’s Taiex was down 1.45%. Chinese mainland shares also declined: The Shanghai composite was down 1.04% and the Shenzhen component lost about 1.71%.
The stock market on Wall Street struggled overnight, where tech shares were hit hard while the Dow and S&P 500 also declined. That weakness in shares was mirrored by an uptick in bond yields.
Currency
In the currency market, the dollar traded near flat at 91.884 against a basket of its peers. Overnight, the greenback erased most of its losses seen after the Fed decision on Wednesday.
“The Federal Reserve has no plans to raise interest rates until 2023 but the recovery in the dollar and rise in Treasury yields tell us that investors continue to be drawn to the economy’s positive outlook,” Kathy Lien, managing director of foreign-exchange strategy at BK Asset Management said in a Thursday note.
The Indian rupee is expected to trade lower against the U.S. currency on broad dollar strength amid rising Treasury yields and weak risk appetite. The rupee will likely change hands around 72.64-72.68 initially compared with 72.53 in the previous session, according to a dealer at a private-sector bank.
The Japanese yen changed hands at 109.02 per dollar, weakening from an earlier level around 108.87. The Bank of Japan is set to conclude its two-day monetary policy meeting on Friday and reports suggested the central bank is expected to widen a band at which it allows long-term interest rates to move around the 0% target. The Australian dollar slipped 0.24% to $0.7737.
Oil
Oil prices reversed course on Friday during Asian trading hours, following a sharp drop in the previous session. U.S. crude erased earlier losses to trade up 0.13% at $60.08 while global benchmark Brent retraced declines to trade up 0.28% to $63.46.
Overnight, prices tumbled close to 7% or more for both U.S. crude futures and Brent.
Financial News
Business Standard
Ø Govt in process to get Cabinet nod for mega textile park scheme, Parliament told
Ø India facing high fossil fuel consumption challenge: Official
Ø US jobless claims rise to 770,000 with layoffs still high
Ø Delhi HC directs Finance Ministry and RBI to bring parity in certain sections of IBC and Sarfaesi Act
Ø Withholding tax on FPI debt return remains at 5%
Ø Remote working to push demand for cyber insurance: IRDAI official
Business Line
Ø India’s economy projected to record stronger recovery in 2021: UNCTAD
Ø Transport Ministry issues draft rules for vehicle scrapping policy
Ø Rajya Sabha passes bill to raise FDI limit in insurance sector to 74%
Ø SC approves SBI MF plan for Franklin Templeton schemes
Ø Sebi amends qualification norms for portfolio managers, advisers, analysts
Ø Adani Green raises $1.35 bn to finance its renewable portfolio
Mint
Ø USAID, DFC announce $41 mn financing for renewable energy in India
Ø In relief for Amazon, Delhi HC stays ₹25,000-cr Future-Reliance deal
Ø Telecom companies make upfront payments for spectrum
Ø Indian space startup Pixxel closes USD 7.3 million in seed funding
Ø Bewakoof raises $4 m from IvyCap Ventures
Ø Hitachi ABB Power Grids bags ₹124-cr order from BALCO
Financial Express
Ø Moody’s Analytics upgrades India’s growth forecast to 12% for 2021
Ø Auto industry to work with govt to create scrappage centres, testing infra: SIAM
Ø Oil falls 2% as inventories rise, vaccine rollout stalls
Ø Nippon India launches new SDL-focused ETF.
Ø Stock markets may crash if crypto trade starts sell-off: Mark Mobius
Ø Cadbury India booked for tax fraud worth ₹241 crore
Deccan Chronicle
Ø TPG’s Rise Fund to invest $200 mn in Airtel Africa mobile money biz
Ø MyGlamm raises Rs 175 cr from Ascent Capital, Amazon, Wipro Consumer, others
Ø 59% employers in India not in favour of ‘work from home’, says report
Ø Union Minister Nitin Gadkari makes BIG announcement over toll plazas
Major Economic Events
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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