Macro Roundup (Mar 13)

SHANGHAI, Mar 13 - This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last Friday night and what is expected today.

The U.S. dollar weakened on Friday after U.S. labour data showed slower wage growth, suggesting inflation pressures are easing and could lead the Federal Reserve to more modest interest rate rises than previously expected

The U.S. economy added jobs at a brisk clip in February, but slower wage growth and a rise in the unemployment rate prompted financial markets to dial back expectations for a 50-basis point rate hike when Fed policymakers end a two-day meeting on March 22.

Rate hikes of 25 basis points at this point make more sense as it allows the Fed to keep tightening but extend the period over which they do it to allow the data to catch up. The market will now focus on the “quite important” consumer price index scheduled for release on March 14.

U.S. stock futures Stock futures jumped Sunday evening after regulators announced a plan to backstop all the depositors in failed Silicon Valley Bank and make additional funding available for other banks.

S&P 500 futures gained 1.1% and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 1.2%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up by 265 points.

The major indexes are coming off a losing week after the collapse of SVB sent shockwaves through the stock market. The Dow on Friday dropped 345 points, or 1.07%. The S&P 500 shed 1.45% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.76%. All of the major averages posted weekly losses, with the Dow finishing its worst week since June.

Oil prices climbed more than 1% on Friday after better-than-expected U.S. employment data, though both benchmarks fell more than 3% on the week on U.S. interest rate hike jitters.

Brent rose $1.19, or 1.5%, to $82.78 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) was up 96 cents, or 1.3%, at $76.68.

Expectations of further rate hikes in the world's largest economy and in Europe have clouded the global growth outlook and driven both crude benchmarks down this week.

Gold prices jumped nearly 2% on Friday, driven by a slide in U.S. Treasury yields and broader financial markets as worries over a fallout in the banking sector eclipsed a strong U.S. jobs report and drove safe-haven flows into bullion.

Spot gold was up 1.98% at $1,867.22 per ounce, its highest since Feb. 14. U.S. gold futures also rose 2.03% to settle at $1,871.90 per ounce.    

European markets closed lower Friday, led by a sell-off in the banking sector.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index provisionally ended the session down 1.5%, with all sectors and major bourses in negative territory.