Credit Suisse shares slumped over 13% following a warning of significant losses
Wall Street stocks rallied on Friday, finishing the volatile week on a positive noteб benefitting from President Joe Biden’s proposal for higher spending on infrastructure. On the data front, the core personal consumption expenditure price index rose 0.1% month over month, in line with expectations. Year over year, the index climbed 1.4%, slightly lower than a 1.5% estimate. As such, the S&P 500 rose 1.7%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.24%.
Today in Asia, stocks were mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.71% after the Bank of Japan released its summary of opinions from its March 2021 meeting. According to the document, the central bank could heighten transparency and stabilize markets by clarifying the band at which it allows long-term interest rates to move around its 0% target. Elsewhere, Australian S&P-ASX 200 was down 0.36%, the Kospi in Seoul lost 0.16% while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong and China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.01% and 0.50%, respectively.
European equities opened mostly higher but the overall trading looked subdued at the start of the week. Investor sentiment was weighed down by Credit Suisse shares, which slumped over 13% following a warning of significant losses from exiting positions after a U.S.-based hedge fund defaulted on margin calls. The pan-European STOXX 600 index edged just 0.01% higher, mostly erasing opening gains.
Meanwhile, the dollar remains steady versus most rivals, staying around one-year peaks as the safe-haven demand persists. EURUSD is back threatening the 1.1760 area, a break below which would pave the way towards 1.1745, followed by the 1.1700 figure. On the upside, the 1.1800 level continues to act as the immediate target for euro bulls. Also on the negative side, the pair has settled below the key moving averages, suggesting the path of least resistance remains to the downside.
