US stocks finish higher following a deluge of positive economic data
US equities finishes higher as Retail sales rose much more than anticipated in January, homebuilder sentiment improved by the most since the summer of 2013 and business inventories continued to rise. Dow Jones rose by 0.1% to 34,128, the S&P gained 0.3% to 4,148 and the Nasdaq advanced 0.9% to 12,071. Treasury rates were mostly higher, as the yield on the 2-year note lost 2bps to 4.61%, while the yields on the 10-year note and the 30-year bond rose 4 bps to 3.8% and 3.84% respectively. US Dollar stalled on Thursday as investors switched into higher-risk currencies after a run of strong US data. DXY lost 0.23% this morning to 103.6. The focus today will be on Producer Price Index, which is forecasted to have risen 0.4% month-over-month in January and 5.4% year-on-year, housing starts and building permits for January, initial jobless claims and the Philly Fed Manufacturing Activity Index.
Military actions continue in Ukraine, with 8 missiles attacks over Ukrainian territory last night. Russian equity market slumped on the news of more EU sanctions to bank sector, especially to Tinkoff and Alfa bank. IMOEX ended Wednesday trading session 2.95% lower at 2,166 level, while the RTSI traded down 3.98% to 914 points. EURRUB exceed 80 points first time in 9 months. Today’s morning showed some correction rebound in both indexes: IMOEX is up 0.5% to 2,177, while RTSI rises 0.3% down to 917 level. On the bond space RGBITR (gov bonds) and RUCBITR (corp bonds) showed decline during yesterday trading session and today morning, with combined dynamics of -0.2% to 609 and -0.02% to 498, correspondingly, with 10y benchmark yield remains at 10.49%.
European markets are traded in green zone during today’s trading session, following mostly better than expected corporate results. Standard Chartered, Centrica, Pernod Ricard and Commerzbank are among the top performers in corporates. Christine Lagarde, ECB President, during yesterday speech assured investors of 50 bps interest rate hike next month. On the stock markets, the DAX index in Germany traded this morning higher 0.4% at 15,577 level, while the CAC 40 in France is up 0.8% to 7,361 level, and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. with +0.4% to 8,026 points. 10Y GILT and 10Y Deutsche Bundus yields rose 4bps to 3.42% and 3 bps to 2.43%, correspondingly.
SSA opens firmer as investors appear to shrug off the prospects of higher rates following strong economic data from the U.S. The space traded mixed on Wednesday with ANGOL’s -.695 slide the standout underperformer while only NGERIA (+.20) managed to break free of the negative sentiment. ZAMBIA (+.50) leading the uptick at the open.
The NTB secondary market closed on a negative note with average yields rising by 210bps across the curve. Average yields across the short, medium & long ends of the curve rose by 175bps, 365bps & 200bps respectively. Jun 8, 2023 bill saw significant selling interest.
In the OMO secondary market, average yields closed higher by 115bps. Average yields at the short end of the curve rose by 115bps. The Mar 7, 2023 bill witnessed some buying pressure.
The FGN bonds secondary market closed on a negative note with average yields across the curve rose by 1bps. Average yields on the medium & long ends rose by 2bps & 1bps respectively. The short end however dropped by 1bps on the average. The Mar 2024 bond was the best performer while the Mar 2027 bond was the worst performer.