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Russia’s President Vladimir Putin announced plans to place nuclear weapons near the border with Belarus. The safe-haven US dollar index rose this morning.
China’s Caixin general manufacturing PMI unexpectedly fell to 50.0 in March, from an 8-month high of 51.6 in February, exerting pressure on the CNY/USD forex pair.
Australia’s retail sales rose by 0.2% to A$35.14 billion in February, slowing from 1.8% growth in the prior month, which sent the AUD/USD pair lower in forex trading this morning.
Japan’s Jibun Bank manufacturing PMI rose to 49.2 in March, from February’s reading of 47.7. This being the fifth straight month of contraction exerted pressure on the JPY/USD forex pair.
South Korea posted a trade deficit of $4.62 billion in March, versus a $3.15 billion surplus in the year-ago month. The news sent the KRW/USD pair lower in forex trading this morning.
What’s happening: The S&P 500 recorded gains for the second straight session on Friday.
What happened: Signs of easing inflation increased prospects of the US Federal Reserve putting a pause to its aggressive monetary tightening.
All major US indices recorded gains on Friday, driven by a spike in technology stocks.
Why it matters: Data released by the US Commerce Department on Friday showed consumer spending rising moderately in February.
Personal spending rose by 0.2% in February, after 2.0% growth in the prior month and cane in below market expectations of a 0.3% rise.
The US core PCE price index, which is the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, accelerated by 4.6% year-on-year in February. The figure was the lowest in 15 months and marked a slowdown from the 4.7% reported in the prior month. Core PCE prices in the US increased by 0.3% month-over-month in February, slowing from 0.5% a month ago.
The US Federal Reserve has been hiking its benchmark interest rate in a bid to cool inflation. Markets expect the central bank to either raise rates by only 25 basis points at its May meeting or put a pause to rate hikes.
On Friday, the University of Michigan consumer sentiment came in at 62 in March, versus a preliminary reading of 67. This marked the first decline in four months.
The S&P 500 rose for the second session in a row and settled at its highest level since February 15. Technology stocks ended the quarter with around 21.5% gains. The financial sector was the worst performing last quarter, down more than 6%, with the KBW regional bank index losing more than 18%.
The Dow Jones index climbed 415.12 points, or 1.26%, to close at 33,274.15 on Friday, while the S&P 500 surged 1.44% to 4,109.31. The Nasdaq 100 jumped 1.68% to finish at 12,221.91.
US stocks recorded strong gains for the week and month, with the Nasdaq 100 adding around 6.7% for March. For the quarter, the S&P 500 jumped 7%, while the Dow Jones index added 0.4%.
What to watch: Investors await the release of economic reports on manufacturing and construction spending. The S&P Global manufacturing PMI is expected to increase to 49.3 in March, from 47.3 in the previous month. The ISM manufacturing PMI, which rose to 47.7 in February, is projected to increase to 49 in March. Analysts expect US construction spending to come in flat in February, following a 0.1% decline in the previous month.
Context: Bitcoin moved higher on Friday, notching a 23% gain for March.
Details: Bitcoin spiked during the final hours of trading in March and breached the $28,000 resistance level. Concerns around the global banking sector has supported sentiment for cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin ended the month with 23% gains. The largest cryptocurrency by market value had temporarily surged past $29,000 to reach its strongest level since June 2022 last week, outperforming the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100.
The crypto market remained highly volatile last week, with concerns around the lawsuit filed by CFTC against the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, Binance.
Although Bitcoin declined in early trading on Friday, it ended the day past $28,800. Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency, also rose and breached the $1,800 mark. The total cryptocurrency market valuation remained close to $1.2 trillion on Friday.
However, both the leading cryptocurrencies started the week on a cautious note, falling below their key levels this morning.
What are expectations: Traders will keep an eye on comments from US Fed officials regarding rate hikes and some major economic reports, which could provide direction to the cryptocurrency market today.
Other Markets: European indices closed higher on Friday, with the FTSE 100, DAX 40, CAC 40 and STOXX Europe 600 Index up by 0.15%, 0.69%, 0.81% and 0.66%, respectively.
Russia’s manufacturing PMI, Australia’s commodity prices, France’s manufacturing PMI and government budget value, Spain’s tourist arrivals, manufacturing PMI and total vehicle sales, Turkey’s inflation rate, producer inflation and consumer price index, Italy’s manufacturing PMI and new passenger car registrations, Germany’s manufacturing PMI and new passenger car registrations, Eurozone’s manufacturing PMI, UK’s manufacturing PMI, South Africa’s manufacturing PMI and new vehicle sales, Mexico’s business confidence indicator and manufacturing PMI, Brazil’s manufacturing PMI, balance of trade and Central Bank of Brazil focus market readout, Singapore’s manufacturing PMI, as well as Canada’s manufacturing PMI and Bank of Canada business outlook survey.
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