NOTABLE MOVES
As of Thu, Mar 14, Singapore Time zone UTC+8
USDJPY, -0.13%, $111.21
EURUSD, +0.39%, $1.1332
GBPUSD, +1.62%, $1.3285
USDCAD, -0.42%, $1.3298
AUDUSD, +0.08%, $0.7086
NZDUSD, -0.06%, $0.6857
S&P500, +0.69%, 2,810.92
Nasdaq, +0.77%, 7,256.98
Nikkei Futures, -0.15%, 21,298.0
CURRENCY MARKET WRAP
- The Dollar Index was lower on Wednesday. (96.48, -0.46, -0.5%). U.S. Treasury market was also quiet on Wednesday. The 2-yr yield and the 10-yr yield finished unchanged at 2.44% and 2.61%, respectively. WTI crude rose 2.3% to $58.27/bbl following some bullish inventory data out of the Energy Information Administration.
- In Brexit, politicians put forward a motion to rule out a “no-deal” Brexit on March 29, the current deadline. Sterling rallied sharply (as much as 2.3% to $1.3381) on the sign of strong parliamentary support for leaving the EU with a formal agreement with Brussels. The risk of a no-deal Brexit has worried central bankers and investors for months and with this option shelved, the UK economy is no longer at risk of a deep and fast contraction. There’s one more big hurdle for parliament to clear and that’s the timeframe for the extension of Article 50 – will it be the short 2 month extension or a longer 2 year addition. Later today, May will put forward a formal request to the European Union for an extension of Article 50.
STOCK MARKET WRAP
- The S&P 500 gained 0.69% on Wednesday, although it lost some steam following Trump’s executive order to ground Boeing’s (BA 377.14, +1.73, +0.5%) 737 Max aircraft. Still, a break above the 2800 level for the S&P 500, along with a weakening dollar, helped the market steer past public scrutiny of Boeing. Trump’s executive order came after Canada decided to close its airspace to the 737 MAX earlier in the day. Canada’s decision wiped out an early 1.7% gain in shares of Boeing, while Trump’s decision sent BA down as much as 3.2%. Boeing, however, ultimately rebounded and ended the day higher by 0.5%.
- Despite the negative publicity surrounding Boeing, the ability for the S&P 500 to break above the 2800 level to begin the day encouraged follow-through buying interest. The benchmark index took out its November high (2815.15) intraday but finished just below that level.