NOTABLE MOVES
As of Tue, Mar 19, Singapore Time zone UTC+8
USDJPY, -0.07%, $111.39
EURUSD, +0.06%, $1.1336
GBPUSD, -0.29%, $1.326
USDCAD, +0.02%, $1.3337
AUDUSD, +0.20%, $0.7099
NZDUSD, -0.01%, $0.6844
S&P500, +0.37%, 2,832.94
Nasdaq, +0.26%, 7,326.28
Nikkei Futures, +0.62%, 21,584.50
CURRENCY MARKET WRAP
- The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.1% to 96.49. It was a quiet session for most of the G7 currencies on Monday, with no notable data prints.
- U.S. Treasuries closed near their unchanged marks. The 2-yr yield and the 10-yr yield increased one basis point each to 2.45% and 2.60%, respectively. WTI crude rose 1.4% to $59.30/bbl, supported by news that OPEC canceled its April meeting and will let its current production cuts run until at least June.
- Theresa May’s Brexit strategy was dealt a major blow by House of Commons Speaker John Bercow when he effectively banned her from bringing her deal back to Parliament for a third time, unless it changes significantly. In his statement, Bercow invoked the rule dating back to 1604, that the same motion cannot be put to a vote repeatedly. “It is a necessary rule to ensure the sensible use of the House’s time and the proper respect for the decisions which it takes. Decisions of the House matter,” he said. With the UK scheduled to leave the European Union on March 29th, time is running out and May needs to officially request for an extension of Article 50 from the EU. As this would need to be approved by all 27 remaining states, their next opportunity to get an extension is Thursday’s EU Council meeting.
STOCK MARKET WRAP
- S&P 500 gained 0.4% on Monday in a session led by the cyclical sectors. Some follow-through buying interest amid a lack of “new” catalysts helped the market advance in front of the Fed’s policy meeting this week. The S&P 500 energy (+1.4%), consumer discretionary (+1.1%), financials (+1.0%), and industrial (+0.9%) sectors outperformed the broader market. Conversely, the communication services (-0.8%), real estate (-0.5%), and utilities (-0.4%) sectors underperformed.
- From a macro perspective, the market appeared uninterested by the latest developments pertaining to U.S.-China trade, Brexit, or slowing growth. Monday’s session also featured a burst of M&A activity and speculation. Notable deals included Fidelity National Information Services (FIS 108.12, -0.76, -0.7%) acquiring Worldpay (WP 108.51, +9.83, +10.0%) in a $43 billion cash-and-stock deal and Deutsche Bank (DB 9.26, +0.38, +4.3%) confirming it is in merger talks with Commerzbank (CRZBY 8.67, +0.58, +7.2%).