CENTRAL BANKS

Norges Bank emergency rate cut to 1.0% from 1.50%; decision was unanimous. Ministry of Finance has, at the Norges Bank's recommendation, elected to cut the countercyclical capital buffer to 1.0% from 2.5%. (Newswires) A decision which resulted in the NOK, which has been under significant pressure recently, strengthening somewhat as the measures are designed to provide support to the financial system. Are scheduled to meet on March 19th . Subsequently, Governor...

• Asian equity markets initially crashed overnight before rebounding, ASX outperformed; US equity futures rose to positive territory 
• Fed announced that it is to provide USD 1.5tln in temporary liquidity amid "highly unusual disruptions" in Treasury financing markets 
• Eurogroup President Centeno said EZ Finance Ministers will agreed to a ‘very large’ policy response to the coronavirus  
• UK and EU have agreed to “dial down the...

• US equity futures have hit limit down (5% in futures) multiple times in European hours as sentiment remains subdued after Trump failed to announce sweeping support
• US President Trump announced to suspend all travel from EU to the US for 30 days beginning Friday at midnight
• DXY is modestly firmer with the complex overall mixed but safe-haven JPY outperforms
• BoJ is reportedly likely to strengthen stimulus at its meeting next week, more active...

• Asian equity markets traded with hefty losses again after another bloodbath on Wall St where the DJIA slipped into bear market territory
• Overnight, Dow futures fell below the 23k level, Nasdaq futures hit limit down and Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell by as much as 8%
• In FX, DXY weakened and reversed some of the prior day’s gains, lifting EUR/USD back towards 1.1300 and USD/JPY below 104.00
• WHO's Tedros said coronavirus is a global pandemic, while he suggested to double down and be more aggressive to...

• Sentiment is somewhat mixed, with US futures lagging their European peers who are bolstered by stimulus measures
• BoE cut rates by 50bp to 0.25%, in a unanimous emergency decision. Cut the counter cyclical buffer and announced a new term funding scheme
• Italian PM Conte says the Government has set aside a total of EUR 25bln to assist the economy given the coronavirus
• Saudi Aramco has received a directive from the Energy Ministry to increase maximum sustainable capacity from 12mln BPD to 13mln...

• Asia-Pac stocks were lower as the prior session’s firm rebound on Wall St failed to resonate across the region
• US equity futures staged a pullback after the White House press conference provided very few details regarding economic measures and President Trump was a no-show
• DXY slightly weakened as it gave back some of the prior day’s spoils but remained above the 96.00 level
• RBA Deputy Governor Debelle suggested there are scenarios where measures such as QE and forward guidance would be...

• Risk sentiment remains firmer in EU hours after a strong APAC handover; though the overall narrative hasn’t changed fundamentally
• DXY is modestly firmer as the JPY retreats in-line with other safe havens
• President Trump announced he is to hold a press conference today on economic measures to respond to the coronavirus and suggested that economic steps will be major
• Japan is reportedly planning to spend JPY 430.8bln in second package of steps on virus outbreak; BoJ are considering expanding their ETF...

• Asian equity markets eventually traded mostly higher as markets began to pick up the pieces from the recent oil-triggered devastation
• DXY traded higher and rose back above the 95.00 level after rebounding from 18-month lows
• Italy has extended its emergency coronavirus measures to the entire country; includes restrictions on travel and public gatherings
• Commodities were mostly underpinned as risk assets recovered from the prior day’s sell-off, with WTI crude futures higher by nearly...

• US equity futures hit limit down as the sell-off resumed driven by the virus, energy and safe-haven flows
• WTI and Brent front month futures traded with losses over USD 10/bbl after Saudi announced supply above 10.0mln BPD from April and slashed OSP’s
• Yields have dropped to fresh all-time lows which has seen the US curve entirely below 1.0% for the first time
• DXY is subdued given JPY outperformance (USD/JPY low 101.58) while commodity-linked currencies are feeling the pinch
• South Korea...

• Asian equity markets resumed their slump and US equity futures also suffered heavy losses in which the E-mini S&P hit limit down
• Saudi Arabia launched an oil price war to punish Russia following the breakdown of the oil deal in which the Kingdom announced it will offer deep discounts by lowering OSP to all destinations
• WTI crude futures suffering losses of more than 31% to below USD 29/bbl and Brent crude also fell off a cliff to a floor of around USD...

• European equities have once again faced heavy selling pressure as their global stockmarket rout continues
• Bunds, Gilts and 10-year USTs have soared in European trade but are now some distance away from best levels and braced for the next leg of the bull run or further retracement
• In FX, The Dollar continues to slide vs major peers while outperforming against the majority of its EM counterparts
• Moscow will only agree to extend the existing OPEC+ oil cuts, will not agree to extra cuts and its position...

• Asian equity markets slumped across the board as the sell-off rolled over from Wall St. where all major indices declined over 3%
• DXY extended its decline heading into today’s NFP data to test the 96.50 level after the 10yr yield fell to a fresh record low
• US Senate voted 96-1 to pass the USD 8.3bln coronavirus bill and sent it to President Trump to sign into law
• WTI crude futures declined firmly below the USD 46.00/bbl in a resumption of the weakness ahead of today’s OPEC+ meeting
• Looking...

• Initial gains for European equities proved to be fleeting. US futures indicate a lower open
• DXY softer, largely at the expense of JPY as USD/JPY breaches 107.00 to the downside
• OPEC reportedly agrees on a 1.5mln bpd output cut, subject to Russian approval; who would reportedly agree to a 1mln cut
• Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are reportedly in discussions on cooperating if the latter exits the presidential race
• Looking ahead, highlights include US Initial Jobless Claims & Factory...

• Asia-Pac indices rose across the board following the constructive pick up from Wall St where all major indices surged and the DJIA posted gains of almost 1200 points 
• US House voted 415-2 to pass USD 8.3bln coronavirus bill as expected, which now goes to the Senate and US President Trump has stated he will sign the bill 
• Fed’s Bullard seemingly leaned away from an immediate further reduction in rates as he suggested that a barrier to cutting again this month is that action has just been...

• European equities saw a relatively shaky start to the session before eventually moving back into positive territory (Eurostoxx 50 +1.4%)
• The DXY has regained some composure after Tuesday’s slide in wake of the Fed’s early or emergency March policy easing
• WTI and Brent prices are firmer this morning with further sources reports suggesting the possibility of deeper production cuts in excess of 1mln bpd
• Super Tuesday Update: Joe Biden is said to have won 319 delegates (372 total) so far vs. 242...

• Asian bourses traded somewhat mixed following from the weak rollover from Wall St. where all major indices slumped around 3%
• Participants digested further weak data in which Chinese Caixin Services and Composite PMIs printed record lows
• HKMA lowered its base rate by 50bps to 1.50% following the Fed rate cut and Macau also lowered its discount window rate by 50bps to 1.50%.
• US VP Pence said there are 77 domestic cases of coronavirus, whilst Washington State confirmed 3 more deaths to bring the total...

• Sentiment is bolstered in EU hours on expectations for stimulus measures due to the coronavirus
• However, G7 statement reportedly does not currently include specific language calling for fresh fiscal spending or coordinated rate cuts
• Commentary from the BoE & ECB on a virus response, ECB stands ready to take appropriate and targeted measures as necessary and commensurate with the underlying risks
• AUD is outperforming G10 peers after the 25bp RBA cut as guidance intimates rates may remain at this...

• Asia traded mostly higher as the region took impetus from the rally on Wall St amid hopes of a coordinated effort to address the fallout from the coronavirus
• G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bankers planned call to discuss the virus will take place at 1200GMT/0700EST
• A draft statement reportedly does not currently include specific language calling for fresh fiscal spending or coordinated rate cuts
• ECB said it stands ready to take appropriate...

• Sentiment was volatile in APAC hours on the abysmal Chinese PMIs; however, did recover throughout the Asia session before reverting back into negative territory in EU trade
• BoJ said it will closely monitor future developments and offered to buy JPY 500bln of JGBs & reportedly bought a record total of JPY 101.4bln of ETF on Monday
• EU Economic Commissioner Gentiloni says we will be assessing requests for fiscal flexibility under EU rules due to the coronavirus outbreak
• OECD cuts global economic...

• Asian bourses and US equity futures began the week volatile with hefty losses which were later recouped as markets found reprieve  
• China reported 202 additional coronavirus cases; South Korea reported 476 more cases; Italy reported 566 new cases; France noted 30 additional cases; US confirmed the first 2 coronavirus-related deaths  
• White House officials are to discuss emergency measures to tackle virus outbreak; Italy will introduce measures valued at...

• Mass sell-off continues, with all bourses firmly in negative territory and the DJIA future breaching the 25k mark
• Spot gold has failed to benefit from the continued sell-off, while JPY has been the clear beneficiary of haven flows
• WHO Spokesman says the coronavirus outbreak is 'getting bigger' the scenario of it reaching multiple, 'if not all countries' is something that we have warned about for a while
• Saudi Arabia is reportedly seeking a cut of 1mln BPD, according to sources cited by the FT, Saudi...

• Asian stocks traded lower across the board following the bloodbath on Wall Street; Nikkei 225 and Hang Seng fell deeper into correction territory
• South Korea reported 256 more cases of new coronavirus thus far, with the total topping 2000; New Zealand, Lithuania, Nigeria and Belarus also reported their first cases
• Saudi Arabia is reportedly seeking an output cut of 1mln BPD, according to sources, deeper than the 600k BPD proposed by the...

• Sentiment remains affixed to the coronavirus, with European bourses down and US equity futures currently posting losses of 1%
• South Korea reported over 500 more cases of new coronavirus thus far, taking the total to 1766; with increases in multiple countries
• Italian coronavirus cases may be inflated due to testing errors, WHO Official; did coincide with a mild uptick in sentiment
• Microsoft have cut their Q3 personal computing guidance and supply chain normalisation due to the coronavirus
• GBP...

• Asian equity markets traded mostly lower following a mixed Wall Street handover, US equity and DAX futures trade with heavy losses heading into the European open
• US President Trump said we are ready to adapt and do whatever to tackle the virus outbreak, VP Pence was put in charge of the virus task force
• First US coronavirus case of unknown origin confirmed in North California; CDC said it could be the first instance of “community spread”
• Microsoft (MSFT) became the latest company to cut guidance due...

• European bourses are negative at present, but well-off session lows which saw Dax March’20 future drop 400 points at worst
• WTI and Brent tested USD 49/bbl and USD 54/bbl on the EU morning sell-off; though selling has stabilised somewhat ahead of the US’ entrance
• First coronavirus related deaths have been reported in France, as well as the first cases in Poland, Greece and Brazil
• EU's Chief Trade Negotiator Hogan said he hopes to broker with the US a "mini-deal" before US increases tariffs on the...