Morning wrap (30.03.2022)

• Global stock markets rallied after Russia-Ukraine talks yesterday. Negotiators converged slightly on some issues and Russia said that it will ease the offensive near Kyiv to improve trust in negotiations.

• However, US officials said that so far they have seen no indication of any withdrawal from Kyiv area and warned that Russian troops may be just regrouping

• S&P 500 gained 1.23% yesterday, Dow Jones moved 0.97% higher and Nasdaq rallied 1.84%. Russell 2000 surged 2.65%

• Stocks in Asia rallied as well. S&P/ASX 200 moved 1.5% higher, Kospi added 0.1% and indices from China traded 1.3-2.5% higher. Nikkei was pressured by strengthening yen and dropped 1.5%

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

• Fed's Bostic sounded somewhat cautious overnight when he said his preference is for 6 hikes this year. He also warned about damage to the economy from hiking too quickly

• According to Wall Street Journal, China may be launch a crackdown on $30 billion live-streaming industry in the country as part of its broad offensive against tech companies

• API report on oil inventories pointed to a 3.0 million barrel drop in US stockpiles (exp. -1.6 mb)

• Japanese retail sales dropped 0.8% YoY in February (exp. -0.3% YoY)

• Precious metals trade higher with palladium rallying almost 4%

• Oil is trading little changed on the day. Brent trades near $108.60 while WTI trades slightly above $105

• NZD and JPY are the best performing major currencies while USD and CAD lag the most

USDJPY launched a downward correction yesterday and has already erased all of the gains made this week. Pair is currently testing 121.25-122.00 support zone with a break below this zone threatening to paint a reversal candlestick pattern on weekly chart. Source: xStation5