Many Markets Remain Closed
April 6, 2015
The Easter Monday holiday is being observed in a wide range of countries: Great Britain, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Norway, The Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Hong Kong, and Thailand. China is celebrating the Ching Ming Festival.
Because of the holiday, very few economic indicators will be released. New York Federal Reserve President Dudley is one of the few officials to be speaking publicly today. There’s no geopolitical news of note today either. In U.S. sports, the 2015 baseball season kicks off, and the college basketball Division I basketball championship game tips off tonight in Indianapolis.
The dollar is mostly firmer, with gains of 0.4% against the loonie, 0.3% relative to the Aussie dollar, 0.2% vis-a-vis the yen, and 0.1% against the euro and Swissie. The kiwi is unchanged, and sterling has firmed 0.2%.
Share prices slipped 0.2% in Japan but rose 0.9% in India, 0.8% in Greece and 0.1% in South Korea. Japan’s 10-year JGB yield is unchanged at 0.33%.
West Texas Intermediate oil rose 2.9% to $50.54 per barrel. Comex gold at $1,217.10 per ounce is 1.4% higher.
India’s service-sector purchasing managers index dipped 0.9 points to a 2-month low of 53.0. Input price inflation hit an 8-month high, however. The composite Indian PMI reading of 53.2 in March was at a 3-month low.
The non-oil PMIs in March of Saudi Arabia (60.1), the UAE (56.3) and Egypt (49.6) respectively constitute a 6-month high, a 2-month low, and a 3-month high.
Japan’s preliminary index of leading economic indicators slid less than forecast to a 3-month low in February of 105.3 from 105.5 in January and 105.8 in December. The index of coincident economic indicators tumbled more sharply to a 3-month low of 110.5 from 113.3, but officials characterized its trend ans “improving” for a second straight time. The index of lagging economic indicators dipped 0.2 points to a 4-month low of 120.3.
The number of unemployed Spanish workers fell by 60.2K in March, more than three times faster than forecast. February’s drop had been by 13.5K.
In North America, Canada’s IVEY PMI index and the ISM PMI index of U.S. non-manufacturing arrive later this morning. The Federal Reserve’s labor market conditions index for March is also due.
Copyright 2015, Larry Greenberg. All rights reserved. No secondary distribution without express permission.
Tags: Easter Monday holiday observances, India PMI, Japanese index of leading economic indicators
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