Weekly Market Update: 29th of March 2021

29th of March 2021

Domestic Markets | S&P/ASX200 up 116pts (1.7%)

CBA up $1.29 (1.5%)
FMG up $0.14 (0.7%)

The ASX200 enjoyed its best week in seven, seeing four days in the green and only the Information Tech sector not finishing in the green. On Thursday, it was announced that Cboe had acquired Chi-X – which is expected to see the ASX face new domestic competition.

Global Markets | Dow Jones up 445pts (1.4%)

S&P 500 up 61pts (1.6%)
Nasdaq down 77pts (0.6%)

Wall Street reacted well to data being released which further showed that the economic recovery was well under way, though the Nasdaq continued to lag behind. President Joe Biden increased his ‘first 100 days in office’ vaccine target by 100m doses, but there are worrying signs that a new COVID wave is starting as cases rose by 9.5% in a week on a 7-day rolling average.

Europe | Euro Stoxx 50 up 30pts (0.8%)
The European markets had a flat week as investors awaited the results of the EU Economic Summit and how EU leaders would react to Commission President von der Leyen’s threats to stop exports to the UK. Despite mixed sentiment, leaders decided to keep trade channels open, which is a positive for European supply chains.

Asia | HSI, CSI, KOSPI, NIKKEI
The Asian markets suffered a poor start to the week, reacting negatively to the rise in US Treasury yields in the week before, with China’s CSI300 the only of the Asian majors to grind into the green, with Korea’s KOSPI finishing flat.

Commodities | Gold fell 12.42USD/oz (0.7%)

Silver fell 1.20USD/oz (4.6%)
Copper fell 0.03USD/lbs (0.8%)
Iron Ore fell 1.50USD/t (0.9%)

Precious Metals | Gold, Silver
Precious metals reversed this week as investors reacted to a worsening COVID situation in Europe by moving capital into the dollar index, which saw the commodity, which is bought in US dollars, to become relatively more expensive. Precious metals also rose as Treasury yields jumped higher on the back of a weaker than expected 7-year bond auction on Thursday.

Oil | WTI Crude, Brent
Oil prices fell for a third consecutive week, with Brent crude falling 0.4% and WTI dropping 1.5% over the course of the week. While the blocking of the Suez Canal by the super container ship Ever Given briefly boosted oil prices due to shipments being delayed, oil traders were still bearish overall on the worsening COVID situation in Europe which is expected to see weaker demand.

Iron Ore
Iron ore once again saw another weekly fall as major Chinese steel-producing cities pledged to cut emissions by as much as 50% during heavy pollution days and impose sanctions on companies that fail to implement the output restrictions. Iron prices however bounced back during the week due to ongoing doubts in regards to Brazilian iron exports and the expectations for increased iron demand.

Copper
Copper continued its period of consolidation as investors continued to take a breath on a commodity which has rallied hard since the start of the year, ahead of a next leg up which is expected to test all-time highs. While copper prices reacted well to expectations that there’ll be strong demand for infrastructure projects from a rapidly recovering US, the strengthening US dollar and the worsening outlook in Europe capped gains.