March and First Quarter 2018 in Figures
March 31, 2018
March was a difficult month for equities, largely because of Fed tightening, U.S.-inspired geopolitical uncertainty, and trade war fears. Nevertheless, U.S. share price losses in the first quarter of 2018 were generally smaller than declines recorded in other countries. Despite higher short-term interest rates during March especially in the United States and Great Britain, year-to-date increases in 10-year sovereign debt yields were trimmed. Commodity prices rose, and the dollar was mixed over March, posting additional losses against sterling, the euro, yen, kiwi and yuan but rising relative to the Swiss franc, Australian dollar and loonie.
| 10-Yr Yield | 03/30/18 | Chg vs End-Feb | Chg vs End-2017 |
| U.S. | 2.74% | -13 Basis Points | +34 Basis Points |
| Germany | 0.49% | -16 | +7 |
| Japan | 0.04% | 0 | 0 |
| U.K. | 1.35% | -15 | +17 |
| Canada | 2.09% | -14 | +5 |
| Switzerland | -0.03% | -7 | +18 |
| 3-month rates | 03/30/18 | Chg v End-Feb | Chg vs End-’17 |
| U.S. | 2.31% | +30 Basis Points | +62 Basis Points |
| Euroland | -0.37% | +1 | +7 |
| Japan | -0.03% | +3 | 0 |
| U.K. | 0.71% | +13 | +13 |
| Swiss | -0.74% | 0 | +1 |
| FX | 03/30/18 | % Chg in USD | Pct Chg in $ |
| EUR/USD | 1.2320 | -1.0% | -2.6% |
| USD/JPY | 106.26 | -041% | -5.7% |
| USD/CHF | 0.9532 | +1.0% | -2.2% |
| GBP/USD | 1.4032 | -1.9% | -3.7% |
| AUD/USD | 0.7682 | +1.1% | +1.6% |
| NZD/USD | 0.7234 | -0.3% | -2.0% |
| USD/CAD | 1.2897 | +0.5% | +2.8% |
| USD/CNY | 6.2755 | -0.9% | -3.6% |
| Equities | 03/30/18 | Chg v End-Feb | Chg vs End-’17 |
| S&P 500 | 2641 | -2.9% | -1.2% |
| Nasdaq | 7063 | -2.9% | -2.3% |
| Djia | 24103 | -3.7% | -2.5% |
| Dax | 12097 | -2.7% | -6.4% |
| Nikkei | 21454 | -2.8% | -5.8% |
| Ftse | 7057 | -2.4% | -8.2% |
| Canada TSE | 15367 | -0.9% | -5.2% |
| Swiss SMI | 8741 | -1.9% | -6.8% |
| Commodities | 12/30/18 | Chg v End-Feb | Chg v End-’17 |
| Oil, $ per barrel | 64.91 | +5.3% | +7.4% |
| Gold, $ per ounce | 1329.60 | +1.1% | +1.6% |
Copyright Larry Greenberg 2018. All rights reserved. No secondary distribution without express permission.
Tags: bond yields, foreign exchange, gold, Oil, stocks
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