Morning wrap (17.03.2021)

• US indices finished yesterday's trading lower. S&P 500 dropped 0.16%, Dow Jones declined 0.39% and Russell 2000 plunged 1.72%. Nasdaq gained 0.09%

• Declines dominate in Asia. S&P/ASX 200 and Kospi dropped 0.5%, Nikkei finished flat, and indices from China traded mixed

• DAX futures point to a more or less flat opening of the European session

• According to CNN, US is expected to sanction Russia, China and Iran for interfering in 2020 elections

• S&P affirmed US sovereign rating at AA+ with stable outlook

• US identified and may sanction 24 Hong Kong and China officials that were involved in limiting Hong Kong's autonomy

• Honda suspended most of its production in US and Canada for a week amid supply chain issues resulting from recent severe winter weather and chip shortages

• Samsung said it may have to suspend production of its Note products amid chip shortages

• Japanese exports imports increased 11.8% YoY in February (exp. 11.9% YoY) while exports declined 4.5% YoY (exp. -0.8% YoY)

• API report signalled a 1 million barrel decline in oil inventories (exp. +2.7 mb)

• Bitcoin trades slightly below $56,000

• Oil trades higher. Precious metals trade mixed - gold gains while platinum, palladium and silver decline

• NZD and AUD are the worst performing major currencies while USD and EUR outperform

Silver is trading lower today but has managed to recover from daily lows. Precious metal pulled back after another failed attempt of breaking above the 50-session moving average (green line). Should a downward move resume, an important support zone can be found in the $24.75 area. Source: xStation5