SHANGHAI, Mar 17 - This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today
The U.S. dollar The dollar fell and the euro rose on Thursday after the European Central Bank raised interest rates as planned despite market chaos in recent days, in a sign the Federal Reserve also will raise rates next week as both stay on track to tame inflation.
The dollar and euro stuck to a narrow range before the ECB announced a half-percentage point rate hike as promised to curb inflation, with markets pricing more than an 80% likelihood that the Fed will raise rates by a quarter point on March 22.
The ECB has raised rates at the fastest pace on record and the Fed at its quickest in four decades to curb high inflation. But a rout in global markets after Silicon Valley Bank collapsed in the United States last week and a plunge in the share value of Credit Suisse this week threatened to upend those plans.
U.S. stock futures were flat on Thursday night. The action comes after a relief rally earlier in the day.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell by 21 points, or 0.06%. S&P 500 futures dipped 0.03%, while Nasdaq futures inched up 0.02%.
Investors are looking ahead to the Federal Reserve’s meeting next week to see how the central bank will proceed in its fight against inflation in light of the shakeup in the banking sector.
Stocks are also on their way to a strong finish for the week. The Dow is up 1.06% for the week, while the S&P 500 is up 2.56% — on pace for its best weekly performance since January. The Nasdaq is up 5.19%, on track for its best week since November.
The major averages had a rocky start in the morning following news that Credit Suisse’s largest investor, the Saudi National Bank, said that it could not provide additional funding for the bank. The announcement from SNB sparked a broad selloff over fears of a crisis in the financial sector.
During the regular trading session, the Dow at one point fell 725 points before ending the day down by 280.83 points, or 0.87% lower. The S&P 500 dropped 0.7%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged 0.05% higher.
Oil prices settled 1% higher on Thursday, ending a three-session losing streak, after reports that Saudi Arabia and Russia met to discuss ways to enhance market stability.
Brent crude futures rose $1.37, or 1%, to settle at $74.70 a barrel, while the West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) gained 74 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $68.35 a barrel.
Gold prices edged higher on Thursday, bouncing towards last session’s month-and-a-half peak as concerns about the banking crisis continue after the European Central Bank hiked interest rates despite the ongoing financial stability risks.
Spot gold was up 0.1% at $1,919.31 per ounce, after jumping to its highest since early February at $1,937.28 on Wednesday.
European stock markets closed higher after a choppy session during which the European Central Bank said it would hike interest rates by 50 basis points despite recent volatility in the region’s banks.
The Stoxx 600 index closed up 1.26% provisionally, having flipped between losses and gains following the ECB’s announcement at 1:15 p.m. London time.
