Wall Street on Thanksgiving Day mood
U.S markets didn’t trade yesterday due to thanksgiving holiday and today’s session on Wall Street will be shortened. At this morning Dow Jones Futures were up 0.15% to 34.264 level, S&P 500 Futures rose 0.1% to 4,038 while and Nasdaq 100 Futures added 0.25% to 11,866 level. The DXY index which measures the greenback against six peers added, fell 0.1% to 105.840, down more than 1% for the week and close to its three-month low of 105.30 hit last week. UST 10Y benchmark traded at 7 weeks lows at 3.70 level on expectations a less aggressive pace U.S. monetary policy. Investors were surprised Fed’s minutes which signalling strong support for a slower rate hike and weaker backing for the Head of Fed J. Powell’s rhetoric for a longer-term hike.
European diplomats so far were unable to agree over how strict a price cap on Russian oil should be, revealing divisions in the bloc. Poland rejected EU’s proposed price of $65 per barrel as being too soft, while Greece doesn’t want to go below $70. In the meantime, Ukrainian President Zelenskiy said in an evening address that 15 regions of the country were experiencing problems with water supplies, while the situation with power was difficult across the country. Seven people died and 21 were injured in Russian shelling of the liberated southern city of Kherson on Thursday evening. Russian stock market traded lower this Friday morning with IMOEX down 0.75% to 2,195 and RTSI down 0.38% to 1,142. Internet company Yandex and metals producer Norilsk Nickel were among the biggest contributors to the drop. Telecommunications company MTS rose. Russian rouble strengthened against the US Dollar and Yuan supported by ongoing tax payments period and EU’s failure to agree on where to set a proposed price cap on Russian oil. USDRUB was down 0.13% to 60.54 and EURRUB dropped by 0.35% to 62.86. Weak domestic demand has been caping import recovery and offering the rouble further support. Russian bond yields were higher at 10.06% gaining 12.5 bps for the last week and 28 bps over the last month. In economic news, the Russian economy is expected to contract 3.6% in 2022, 3% in 2023 and expand 1.7% in 2024 according to a survey conducted by Bloomberg news.
EU markets open largely firmer as the business climate index in Germany leaved the local minimum area. The DAX index in Germany added 0.12% to 14,556 level, FTSE 100 in UK rose 0.27% to 7,486, while CAC 40 in France traded 0.14% higher 6,716 level.
The IFO business climate index, based on a survey of German companies, amounted to 86.3 vs. 84.5 points in October (forecast: 85). Assessment of the current situation: 93.1 vs 94.2. Business expectations for the month: improvement to 80 points vs. 75.9 a month earlier. On an annual basis, the German GDP grew 1.2% in the third quarter, a sharp slowdown from the 1.7% growth seen in the same quarter a year ago when Europe’s largest economy still had momentum from its post-pandemic reopening.
GHANA (-.375) whipsawing at the open as it dominates the news after the deputy finance minister’s remarks over restructuring proposals; the minister proposed a 30% haircut and 3-year debt moratorium initially before seemingly tracking back during a subsequent interview. The rest of the space is mixed having traded firmer on Thursday; KENINT (+.375) one of the early outperformers with belly to long issues being most bid.
The FGN bonds secondary market closed on a positive note as average yields closed lower by 9bps across the curve. Average yields on the short & medium tier rose by 41bps and 4bps however, the long end of the curve remained unchanged. The Mar 2024s bond was the best performer. The NTB secondary market again, closed on a flat note. Average yields remained unchanged across the short and Medium tier of the curve. The long end dropped marginally by 1bps. Sept 2023 & Oct 2023 witnessed some buying interest as they dropped by 1bps each. In the OMO secondary market, yields closed flat across the curve.
**The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), released the GDP for Q3 making eight consecutive quarters of growth.