Morning wrap (03.03.2023)

• US indices snapped a losing streak and finished yesterday's trading higher. S&P 500 gained 0.76%, Nasdaq added 0.73% and Dow Jones moved 1.05% higher. Russell 2000 gained 0.22%

• Indices from Asia-Pacific traded higher today. Nikkei jumped 1.6%, S&P/ASX 200 moved 0.4% higher, Kospi added 0.2% and Nifty 50 rallied 1.5%. Indices from China traded up to 1.2% higher

• DAX futures point to a higher opening of the European cash session

• The US Commerce Department expanded its Entity List by 37 companies for supporting Chinese and Russian militaries, among other activities. Entity List includes companies US Commerce Department sees as posing security risk to the United States

• Fed Bostic said that a pause in US rate hike cycle may come in mid- or late-summer

• Fed Waller sees possibility of FOMC raising rates above 5.1-5.4% central view from December projections

• ECB Wunsch said that the Bank may consider raising rates to as high as 4%

• Morgan Stanley expects ECB rates to peak at 4%

• CPI inflation excluding food and energy in the Japanese Tokyo area decelerated from 4.3 to 3.3% YoY in February (exp. 3.4% YoY)

• The Japanese unemployment rate dropped from 2.5 to 2.4% (exp. 2.5%)

• Chinese Caixin services PMI jumped from 52.9 to 55.0 in February (exp. 54.2)

• Australian home loans dropped 5.3% MoM in January (exp. -3.0% MoM)

• Cryptocurrencies are pulling back as Silvergate issues pressure the market. Bitcoin drops 4.6%, Ethereum trades 5.0% lower and dogecoin slumps over 6%

• Precious metals and energy commodities are trading a touch higher

• AUD and GBP are the best performing major currencies while USD and CHF lag the most

Concerns over the condition of crypto bank Silvergate mount and it is putting pressure on cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin plunged below the $23,000 mark and is trading over 4% lower on the day. Source: xStation5