GLOBAL MARKETS DJIA 31874.57 -280.83 -0.87% Nasdaq 11434.05 5.90 0.05% S&P 500 3891.93 -27.36 -0.70% FTSE 100 7344.45 -292.66 -3.83% Nikkei Stock 26877.11 -352.37 -1.29% Hang Seng 19159.06 -380.81 -1.95% Kospi 2374.07 -5.65 -0.24% SGX Nifty* 17023.50 49.5 0.29% *March contract USD/JPY 132.96-97 -0.34% Range 133.50 132.51 EUR/USD 1.0592-95 +0.15% Range 1.0602 1.0574 CBOT Wheat May $7.026 per bushel Spot Gold $1,910.52/oz -0.4% Nymex Crude (NY) $68.06 -$3.27 US STOCKS
Fallout from a global banking storm whipsawed stocks as investors fled to the relative safety of the U.S. Treasury market.
The S&P 500 ended the day down 0.7% and Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.9% lower, while the Nasdaq Composite Index reversed its losses, ending up less than 0.1%.
Concerns about Credit Suisse led a rout in European banking shares and U.S. stocks before speculation that Swiss regulators might shore up the bank stoked a rebound.
Separately, U.S. supplier prices fell in February from a month earlier, a possible sign of a recent easing in inflationary pressures. The producer-price index, which generally reflects supply conditions across the economy, fell 0.1% in February from the prior month, compared with a downwardly revised 0.3% increase in January, the Labor Department said.
ASIAN STOCKS
Japanese stocks were lower, dragged by falls in financial stocks, as government bond yields dropped amid continuing concerns over the health of the financial sector. Toshiba Corp. is up 1.7% following a report it plans to hold a board meeting to discuss a buyout proposal. Investors remain focused on any fallout following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. The Nikkei Stock Average was down 0.9% at 26974.10.
South Korea's benchmark Kospi fell 1.2% to 2352.01 in early trade, dragged down by financial and tech stocks. Investor sentiment was cooling fast on the selloff overnight in Credit Suisse shares after Swiss regulators proposed offering liquidity to the financially crunched European lender, stoking worries that the banking sector crisis could spread globally after the failures of two U.S. banks. USD/KRW rose 1.0% to 1,316.90 on renewed risk-off sentiment.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.5% to 19247.18 in morning trade amid risk-off sentiment. This mood has been spurred by an overnight drop in European banking stocks, Commerzbank analysts said in a research report. The news of woes at Credit Suisse added to jitters sparked by bank collapses in the U.S. Losses on the HSI were relatively broad-based. The Hang Seng Tech Index was down 0.5% at 3847.26.
Chinese shares were lower in early trade, in tandem with other Asian equities. "Sentiment is weak in Asia given that China's activity data for Jan and Feb turned out to be underwhelming," UOB analysts said in a note. They reckoned that Asian equities will face renewed pressure today amid the on-going selloff in the U.S and European banking sector. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.6% to 3242.71, the Shenzhen Composite Index declined 0.5% to 2070.69 and the ChiNext Price Index slipped 0.3% to 2330.90.
FOREX
JPY strengthened sharply against other G-10 and Asian currencies in the early morning session, probably due to safe-haven demand. Both JPY and USD have strengthened amid renewed concerns about financial contagion, said Carol Kong, economist and currency strategist at CBA, in a research report. A spike in measures of volatility such as the VIX and the MOVE indexes and/or a slump in stock markets will probably be a signal for another move higher in JPY and USD, Kong added. USD/JPY slipped 0.6% to 132.62, AUD/JPY dropped 0.5% to 87.84 and EUR/JPY fell 0.6% to 140.24.
METALS
Gold fell in Asian trading, reversing earlier gains, in a likely technical correction following the precious metal's recent surge on safe-haven demand. However, gold still seems to provide the most competitive risk-reward, as strong physical demand should keep losses subdued, if central banks continue to battle inflation despite bank-related liquidity worries, said TD Securities senior commodity strategist Daniel Ghali in a research report. Spot gold was down 0.4% at $1,910.52/oz.
OIL SUMMARY
Oil climbed in the early morning Asian session in a likely technical rebound after the U.S. benchmark closed below $70.00/bbl for the first time since December 2021. Traders will be weighing concerns about economic stability in the U.S. and Europe, stoked by the collapse of SVB and troubles at Credit Suisse, against OPEC's monthly report this week signaling growing optimism over Chinese demand. OPEC said it expects global oil demand growth to be steady at 2.3 million barrels a day this year, largely on par with its previous estimates. Front-month WTI crude oil futures were 1.5% higher at $68.64/bbl; front-month Brent crude was 1.6% higher at $74.87/bbl.
TOP HEADLINES Bank Failures, Market Turmoil Fuel Bets on a Pause in Fed Interest-Rate Increases Credit Suisse Stock Decline Tests Strength of European Banks G-7 Opposes Lowering Russian Crude Price Cap From $60 a Barrel U.S. Crude Slips Below $70 a Barrel Swiss Regulators Offer Financial Lifeline to Credit Suisse Japan Posts 19th Straight Trade Deficit in February U.S. Threatens to Ban TikTok if Chinese Founder Doesn't Sell Ownership Stake North Korea Fires ICBM Hours Before Japan-South Korea Summit Finland Expects Turkey to Approve Its NATO Membership Bid This Week India Finally Gets an Ambassador as Eric Garcetti Is Confirmed by Senate Credit Suisse Will Borrow Up to 50 Billion Swiss Francs Biggest Banks Shed Billions as Credit Suisse Decline Fuels Selloff Marvel Takes Google and Reddit to Court Over Leaked 'Ant-Man' Script
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
03-15-23 2315ET
