Morning wrap (31.03.2021)

• US indices finished yesterday's trading lower. S&P 500 dropped 0.32%, Dow Jones declined 0.31% and Nasdaq finished 0.11% lower. Russell 2000 gained 1.72%

• Downbeat moods dominated during Asian trading as well. Nikkei dropped 0.6%, Kospi traded flat and indices from China declined. S&P/ASX 200 added 0.8%

• DAX futures point to a lower opening of the European session

• According to Reuters, today's announcement from Biden will include around $2 trillion in infrastructure spending over 8 years

• China imposed a lockdown on Ruili city in Yunnan province following a local coronavirus outbreak. Citizens are advised to stay at home for a week and vehicles are banned from leaving the area

• Chinese manufacturing PMI increased from 50.6 to 51.9 pts in March (exp. 51.2) while services PMI jumped from 51.4 to 56.3 (exp. 52)

• Japanese industrial production dropped 2.1% MoM in February (exp. -1.2% MoM)

• Australia's building approvals increased 21.6% MoM in February (exp. +5% MoM)

• South Korean industrial output increased 4.3% MoM in February (exp. -0.1% MoM)

• Mitsubishi UFJ, Japanese financial group, said that it may face losses of around $300 million linked to a US customer (most likely Archegos Capital). Media reports that UBS is also facing loss in low three-digit millions USD

• Bitcoin trades slightly lower on the day and near the $58,000 mark

• Precious metals trade lower with palladium being an exception. Oil, industrial metals and agricultural commodities gain

• AUD and CAD are the best performing major currencies while JPY and CHF lag the most

As oil prices stopped falling, Canadian dollar was able to catch a breath. CADJPY pair is recovering from recent correction and approaching post-pandemic highs in the 88.00 area. Upward move is being supported today by the JPY weakness. Source: xStation5