Financial Markets Daily Report18 March 2022
In yesterday's session investors traded with cautious optimism, weighting solid economic data with negative comments by Russian authorities about the lack of progress in negotiations with Ukraine. Today, US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will hold a meeting to discuss the ongoing conflict.
- In yesterday's session investors traded with cautious optimism, weighting solid economic data with negative comments by Russian authorities about the lack of progress in negotiations with Ukraine. Today, US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will hold a meeting to discuss the ongoing conflict.
- In this context, stock indices rose in the US and in emerging economies but were mixed in Europe. In fixed-income markets, 10-year sovereign yields ticked down and euro area peripheral spreads widened modestly. In energy markets, the price of the barrel of Brent rose again above $100 and European gas prices increased.
- In the macroeconomic front, Eurostat revised upwards February's HICP data from 5.8% to 5.9%, while industrial production in the US surged by 1.2% m/m in February. In the UK, the Bank of England hiked interest rates, as expected by 25bp, but softened its language about the urgency of more increases.