Morning wrap (03.04.2024)

After yesterday's weak session on Wall Street, during which the Dow Jones lost 1% and Tesla shares slid more than 5% after weak manufacturing and supply data, sentiment in the Asian session was also poor.

China's Hang Seng lost nearly 1%, although the index of mainland Chinese equities, the CSI 300, did noticeably better, slipping 0.26%. Japan's benchmark Nikkei lost 0.7%, and South Korea's KOSPI lost 1.2%.

China's services PMI for March, according to Caixin, turned out to be slightly better, pointing to 52.7 versus 52.5 forecast and 52.5 previously.

Japan's services PMI, on the other hand, turned out to be slightly weaker in March, according to Jibun Bank. The services reading indicated 54.1 versus 54.7 previously, and the headline index came in at 51.7 versus 52.3 previously

U.S. as well as European index contracts are losing slightly, and the session in Europe is likely to open in a slightly weaker mood

EURUSD, despite dovish comments from the ECB's Holzmann, is rebounding after reaching a low near 1.072. Holzmann indicated that inflation in the Eurozone may fall faster than expected, and looking at the zone's productivity, even a 3% deposit rate may be too high

In contrast, the Fed's Mester and Daly indicated that the Federal Reserve is watching oil price increases closely, although for them to have a noticeable impact on inflation, the increase would have to be maintained and extended; and there is no talk of changing the US inflation target

Brent and WTI crude oil are losing around 0.2%, but Brent is still hovering 'dangerously' close to $90 per barrel. NATGAS contracts are trading slightly higher

Precious metals are doing very well, with gold holding near $2283 per troy ounce and gaining 0.18%, and silver at $26.3 and gaining almost 1%

Cryptocurrencies are recovering slightly from yesterday's sell-offs, with Bitcoin trading less than 0.7% higher near $66,500 and Ethereum gaining 1.4%

According to U.S. geological data, Taiwan's east coast has been hit by the strongest earthquake in 25 years; 4 deaths are known so far, Taiwan's ministry has so far not confirmed a serious threat to the island's infrastructure
North Korea has conducted a successful test launch of a hypersonic warhead 

China has confirmed a visit by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen from April 4 - 9, 2024