Equities lower ahead of Yellen... Carney pushes banks to higher reserves... Japan’s PM urges spending for growth... India’s Modi defends government policy...
Equities lower ahead of Yellen
Fed chair Janet Yellen will speak Tuesday and world markets are lower as nervous investors await clues as to what might be ahead. Analysts are expecting that the Fed could make one of two interest rate hikes in April. Yellen will speak at 11.30am EST.
Oil prices are also lower again as markets remain concerned over output and stockpile levels and the effectiveness of any agreement that producers make when they meet next month.
Asian markets closed mostly lower with South Korea and Hong Kong finishing with gains.
European indexes are also trending lower after initially opening higher following the Easter break.
Wall Street and Toronto are expected to open broadly flat ahead of Janet Yellen’s speech.
Carney pushes banks to higher reserves
Bank of England governor Mark Carney is requiring UK banks and other financial institutions to hold higher levels of cash reserves. CityAM.com reports that the central bank’s Financial Policy Committee says that although British banks have improved resilience since the financial crisis, they will be faced with an increase in the countercyclical buffer rate from zero per cent to 0.5 per cent of risk-weighted assets, effective March 29, 2017.
Japan’s PM urges spending for growth
Shinzo Abe wants his government to front-load its spending plans for the fiscal year in order to prompt growth in Japan’s economy. The Prime Minister spoke following parliament’s approval of a U$597.7 billion budget for the new year which begins April 1.
India’s Modi defends government policy
Low oil prices are not the reason for India’s growing economy. That was the message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was defending his government’s fiscal policies, which critics claim are not behind the country’s GDP growth of around 7.5 per cent.
"Many other emerging economies also depend on imported oil," Modi said. "If oil prices were the driver of success, those countries would all be showing similar results. But they are not," Mr Modi told CNN.
Fed chair Janet Yellen will speak Tuesday and world markets are lower as nervous investors await clues as to what might be ahead. Analysts are expecting that the Fed could make one of two interest rate hikes in April. Yellen will speak at 11.30am EST.
Oil prices are also lower again as markets remain concerned over output and stockpile levels and the effectiveness of any agreement that producers make when they meet next month.
Asian markets closed mostly lower with South Korea and Hong Kong finishing with gains.
European indexes are also trending lower after initially opening higher following the Easter break.
Wall Street and Toronto are expected to open broadly flat ahead of Janet Yellen’s speech.
| Latest | 1 month ago | 1 year ago | |
| North America (previous session) |
|||
| US Dow Jones | 17,535.39 (+0.11 per cent) | +6.17 per cent | -1.00 per cent |
| TSX Composite | 13,390.19 (+0.24 per cent) | +4.12 per cent | -9.60 per cent |
| Europe (at 5.30am ET) |
|||
| UK FTSE | 6,097.54 (-0.15 per cent) | +1.41 per cent | -12.78 per cent |
| German DAX | 9,819.89 (-0.32 per cent) | +5.23 per cent | -17.24 per cent |
| Asia (at close) |
|||
| China CSI 300 | 3,135.41 (-1.08 per cent) | +8.96 per cent | -21.06 per cent |
| Japan Nikkei | 17,103.53 (-0.18 per cent) | +6.72 per cent | -11.31 per cent |
| Other Data (at 6.30am ET) |
|||
| Oil (Brent) | Oil (WTI) | Gold | Can. Dollar |
| 39.53 (-1.84 per cent) |
38.80 (-1.50 per cent) |
1217.40 (- 0.22 per cent) |
U$0.7593 |
| Aus. Dollar |
|||
| U$0.7527 | |||
Carney pushes banks to higher reserves
Bank of England governor Mark Carney is requiring UK banks and other financial institutions to hold higher levels of cash reserves. CityAM.com reports that the central bank’s Financial Policy Committee says that although British banks have improved resilience since the financial crisis, they will be faced with an increase in the countercyclical buffer rate from zero per cent to 0.5 per cent of risk-weighted assets, effective March 29, 2017.
Japan’s PM urges spending for growth
Shinzo Abe wants his government to front-load its spending plans for the fiscal year in order to prompt growth in Japan’s economy. The Prime Minister spoke following parliament’s approval of a U$597.7 billion budget for the new year which begins April 1.
India’s Modi defends government policy
Low oil prices are not the reason for India’s growing economy. That was the message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was defending his government’s fiscal policies, which critics claim are not behind the country’s GDP growth of around 7.5 per cent.
"Many other emerging economies also depend on imported oil," Modi said. "If oil prices were the driver of success, those countries would all be showing similar results. But they are not," Mr Modi told CNN.
