March 7th Morning Report

Thursday 7th March 2024

US markets closed lower on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank expects to reduce its benchmark interest rate later this year. Powell, in prepared remarks ahead of his congressional testimony, said that inflation had "eased substantially" since hitting 40-year highs in 2022, but that policymakers still needed "greater confidence" in its continued decline before cutting rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.95%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were up 1.05% and up 1.79% respectively.

Other key markets ended mixed. European stocks closed as follows: the FTSE100 (+0.43%), the Dax 30 (+0.10%), CAC 40 (+0.28%) and the STOXX (+0.46%). In Asia, the Hang Seng and Shanghai indices closed mixed. The key Asian indices ended yesterday as follows: Nikkei 225(-0.02%), HSI (+1.70%) and the Shanghai Composite (-0.26%).

The yield on the US 10 - year note was at 4.11%, while the 2 - year note was at 4.566%. Oil was up to $79.22 per barrel, up 1.37%. The gold price was at US$2150.60 per ounce, up 0.41%.

Morning Report 7 March 2024

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