Macro Roundup (Mar 11)

SHANGHAI, Mar 11 —This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.

The euro retreated from its overnight gains on Thursday following the European Central Bank’s announcement it will phase out its stimulus in the third quarter, while the dollar strengthened after a strong U.S. inflation report.

The statement from the ECB, which left the door open to an interest rate hike before the end of 2022 as soaring inflation outweighs concerns about the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, briefly sent the euro higher, before market sentiment turned negative.

Stock futures were flat ahead of Friday’s session as the Dow Jones Industrial Average headed for its fifth losing week in a row amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 50 points. S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% and Nasdaq 100 futures were little unchanged.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 112.18 points to 33,174.07 during regular trading on Thursday, after climbing more than 650 points in the previous session, while the S&P 500 shed 0.4%. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 1% to 13,129.96, led by losses from Apple and Meta Platforms.

Week to date, the Dow is down 1.31% and headed for its fifth negative week in a row since May 2019. Meanwhile, the S&P is down 1.60% and Nasdaq 1.38% this week.

The losses came as negotiations between Russia and Ukraine came to a halt without progress on a cease-fire or passage for civilians attempting to flee the city of Mariupol. The markets have fluctuated in recent weeks as investors weigh the fallout of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Oil prices settled lower on Thursday after a volatile session, a day after its biggest daily dive in two years, as Russia pledged to fulfil contractual obligations and some traders said supply disruption concerns were overdone.

Since Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, oil markets have been the most volatile in two years. On Wednesday, global benchmark Brent crude posted its biggest daily decline since April, 2020. Two days earlier, it hit a 14-year high at over $139 a barrel.

Brent futures fell $1.81, or 1.6%, to settle at $109.33 a barrel after gaining as much as 6.5% earlier in the session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $2.68, or 2.5%, to settle at $106.02 a barrel, giving up over 5.7% of intraday gains.

Gold steadied near the $2,000 an ounce level on Thursday, after big gyrations over the past couple of sessions, as its safe-haven appeal was supported by a lack of progress in talks between Russia and Ukraine.

Spot gold rose 0.2% to $1,996.30 per ounce by 13:53 ET (1853 GMT), after tumbling as much as 3% on Wednesday. U.S. gold futures settled up 0.6% at $2,000.40.

A rush to safe-haven assets earlier this week had pushed gold near the record levels hit in August 2020.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 dropped 1.8% by the close, with autos shedding 4.8% to lead losses as almost all sectors and major bourses slid into the red.

The European Central Bank on Thursday opted to keep interest rates steady, remaining cautious as it assesses the economic fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But it announced that it will wind down asset purchases faster than planned, before adding that it stands ready to revisit this decision if the outlook changes.