Morning wrap (22.04.2022)

• US indices plunged yesterday with the tech sector lagging the most. Stocks remain under pressure amid continued pick-up in yields. US 10-year yield is nearing 3%

• S&P 500 dropped 1.48%, Dow Jones moved 1.05% lower while Nasdaq slumped 2.07%. Russell 2000 also dropped more than 2%

• Downbeat moods were observed during the Asian session as well. Nikkei and S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.5%, Kospi moved 0.8% lower and indices from China traded mixed

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

• According to Reuters, Russia rejected Ukraine's proposal for Easter ceasefire

• Shanghai authorities said that lockdown will be phased out gradually at community level once 0 cases is reached (within a community)

• Nomura expects Fed to deliver a 50 basis point rate hike in May followed by 75 basis point rate hikes in June and July

• BoC Governor Macklem said that monetary policy is not on autopilot and BoC will be flexible

• Japanese manufacturing PMI index dropped from 54.1 to 53.4 pts in April. Services index jumped from 49.4 to 50.5

• Australian manufacturing PMI index increased from 57.7 to 57.9 pts in April. Services index jumped from 55.6 to 56.6 pts

• Energy commodities trade lower on Friday morning. Brent drops 1.7% while WTI trades 1.4% lower

• Precious metals trade mixed - gold trades flat, silver drops while palladium and platinum gain

• EUR and JPY are the best performing major currencies while AUD and NZD lag the most

Russell 2000 (US2000) was one of the worst performing major Wall Street indices yesterday. A strong drop has dashed hopes for an imminent breakout from the current 1,930-2,100 pts trading range. Deepening of the declines towards the lower limit of the range looks like a base case scenario for now. Source: xStation5