Archives of “April 6, 2021” day

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Eurozone April Sentix investor confidence 13.1 vs 6.7 expected

  
  Analysis

Latest data released by Sentix – 6 April 2021

  • Prior 5.0

A solid beat in the headline reading, jumping to its highest since August 2018. This reaffirms the more upbeat mood surrounding economic expectations moving forward.

We’ll see how the vaccine rollout progresses in the coming months though to be sure but a Bloomberg report just out says that the EU is projecting near-virus immunity by the end of June, superseding its initial target estimate by the summer (end July).

Eurostoxx futures +0.7% in early European trading

  
Analysis, Global Indices
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Some catch up play for Europe going into the open

  • German DAX futures +1.1%
  • UK FTSE futures +0.6%
  • Spanish IBEX futures +0.6%
After the more upbeat mood in US equities yesterday, European indices have some catching up to do following the Easter break since last Friday.
The early gains belie the more measured risk mood so far today though, with US futures pulling back slightly after yesterday’s stellar advance. S&P 500 futures and Dow futures are down 0.2% while Nasdaq futures are keeping flatter with Treasury yields a touch lower.
That is keeping the dollar steadier and major currencies little changed so far on the day.

Nikkei 225 closes lower by 1.30% at 29,696.63

  
Analysis, Global Indices

A bit of a pullback in Asian equities today

The Nikkei clipped the 30,000 mark for the first time in just over two weeks yesterday but failed to hang on above that as a stronger yen from overnight trading, among other factors, weighed on the index. The Topix also closed 1.5% lower on the day.
Elsewhere, Chinese equities are still struggling somewhat with the Shanghai Composite down 0.2% despite more upbeat PMI data from earlier. That said, better economic prospects may prove to be a double-edged sword as it reaffirms fears of policy tightening

US Senate rules to allow further Biden stimulus

  
  Analysis

This refers to arcane US Senate rulings that I shall leave it to those interested to chase up on further reading … I am just going to summarise a piece from the WSJ:

  • The Senate’s nonpartisan parliamentarian Monday ruled in favor of a Democratic effort to pass additional legislation through a process called reconciliation
  • Democrats have used reconciliation once this year to pass the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package
  • With the parliamentarian’s new advice to lawmakers, Democrats could now possibly use it a third time to skirt the 60-vote threshold necessary for most legislation to pass in the Senate.
Link here for more (Journal may be gated)
Long story, short is it allows MOAR stimulus …
  • “This confirms the leader’s interpretation of the Budget Act and allows Democrats additional tools to improve the lives of Americans if Republican obstruction continues,” the spokesman for Mr. Schumser said.
(Schumer is the Senate Majority Leader … pictured below, in the glasses)
This refers to arcane US Senate rulings that I shall leave it to those interested to chase up on further reading ... I am just going to summarise a piece from the WSJ:

World Bank head expects China, the US & other G20 to extend debt service freeze

  
  Analysis

One for the EM folks, comments from -World Bank President David Malpass on Monday

Report comes via Reuters (link for more):
  • expects an extension of the freeze in bilateral debt service payments through the end of 2021
  • referring to the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (which has helped countries defer some $5 billion in payments through the end of 2020, with another $7.3 billion in deferred payments expected through June
  • Extending the debt payment freeze through year-end would save even more money that countries could use to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and support their economies
—
ps. Not breaking news, was out overnight (i.e. Europe/US time)
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