Daily summary: Global stocks on the back foot

• Putin demands western countries pay for gas in Rubles
• Fed's preferred measure of inflation hits 40 year high
• US will release record amount of oil from strategic reserves

European indices finished the final session of the quarter lower after Putin demanded payments for Russian gas in Rubles, despite the earlier assurances that companies from Europe will be able to pay in Euro or dollars. The Kremlin announced that countries that did not comply with the request would be cut off from gas supplies. As a result, DAX 30 closed down around 14,400 and posted its third consecutive monthly decline.

Major Wall Street indices are also trading lower after Core PCE inflation jumped to 40-year highs while personal spending decreased which, in turn, prompted bets on a higher possibility of a 50-bps hike in May. Tomorrow investors will focus on Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks and nonfarm payroll report which could pave the way for the US Federal Reserve's policy stance. Despite today's weak session Dow Jones rose nearly 4% in March, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq added about 5% each. However, on the quarterly basis, Dow and S&P 500  fell about 3% for the first quarter, while Nasdaq is off more than 7%.

USD clearly appreciated against the EUR (0.7%) and NZD (0.55%) while weakened slightly against the yen and the franc. On the other hand, the GBPUSD and USDCAD currency pairs are trading flat in the evening.

Crude oil price plunged sharply on Thursday after White House US announced it will release 180 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves within the next six months. Elsewhere gold moved firmly higher and if current momentum is maintained, an attack on the key resistance zone at $ 1960 cannot be ruled out. Downbeat moods prevail on the cryptocurrency market, where Bitcoin pulled back below $46000 while Ethereum is testing $3300 level.

USDJPY looking at the H4 interval, one can see that a classic technical pattern is building up - head and shoulders pattern which often heralds declines. The zone at 121.30 should be treated as a key support. Source: xStation5