Morning wrap (06.03.2024)

Indexes from Asia and the Pacific mostly record an uptrend session despite a weaker session on Tuesday at Wall Street.

The Japanese Nikkei is down 0.05%, the Australian S&P/ASX 200 is up 0.15%, and the indexes from China are gaining between 1.79-2.00%.

Futures contracts for European indexes also indicate a slightly higher opening for the cash session in Europe.

In the forex market, we do not observe significant changes in the first part of the day, with most forex rates fluctuating between +-0.20%. The currencies losing the most in the first part of the day are CHF, USD, and GBP, while JPY is gaining. The USDJPY pair is down 0.12% today and is back below the 150 level.

Australia's economy grew by just 0.2% in the December quarter, which was lower than the population growth, meaning that economic activity per person fell again. The data was slightly worse than the expected 0.3% q/q.

Core inflation in South Korea accelerated again at a pace higher than expected after three consecutive months of decline. The benchmark consumer price index rose by 3.1% in February compared to the previous year, after rising by 2.8% in the previous month.

U.S. forces shot down one anti-ship ballistic missile and three unmanned aerial systems launched from Iranian-backed Houthi areas of Yemen towards USS Carney in the Red Sea, according to the U.S. Central Command.

In the cryptocurrency market, we observe a rebound after the dynamic drops that occurred after yesterday's achievement of ATH on Bitcoin. When the price reached USD 69,000, there was a cascading liquidation of positions on contracts.

Investors had previously positioned themselves for short trades at these levels. However, losses were quickly recovered, this time during the liquidation of short positions.

At the time of publication, Bitcoin is gaining 3.40% to the level of USD 66,000. Ethereum is listed as much as 5.80% higher to the level of USD 3,760. Capital flow from Bitcoin to smaller projects is still noticeable. In recent days, returns on ETH exceed those on BTC.