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- Global equities closed last week broadly lower, and equity markets continue to look weak but only slightly so. Both the Nikkei 225 Index and the Hang Seng Index look to be closing below Friday’s closes.
- In the Forex market, the Japanese Yen and the US Dollar are the strongest major currencies today, while the New Zealand Dollar is currently the weakest.
- Some commodities are performing quite well, with some continuing to rise after having recently made significant bullish breakouts, notably Sugar and Cocoa. However, the price of WTI Crude Oil is showing some strongly bearish momentum as it trades lower.
- ECB President Lagarde said yesterday that there is “every reason” to believe the ECB will hike by 50bps at its next meeting in March.
- Governor-Designate Ueda of the Bank of Japan will be testifying before the Japanese Parliament tomorrow. This could very well create volatility in the Japanese Yen.
- Economists are forecasting a higher chance of a recession in Australia.
- Daily confirmed new global coronavirus cases decreased last week for the ninth consecutive week.
- Total confirmed new coronavirus cases worldwide stand at over 679.7 million with an average case fatality rate of 1.00%. Daily new confirmed cases have fallen to a low level not seen since May 2020, just after the start of the pandemic.