Stocks across the world are slipping following a potent earthquake along with a tsunami hit Japan and fears of damage to the Japanese economy are balancing on investors’ spirits. The 8.9-magnitude earthquake in which shook Japan Friday brought on a 10-meter high tsunami along seaside areas. Tsunami signals had been distributed for almost 20 countries, such as Hawaii and the West Coast. Additionally, higher than predicted CPI in China signals concerns that the Chinese economic system is getting too hot and the local government will probably be pressured to slow it down by raising interest rates.
The Feb CPI came in at 4.9%, a fraction greater than the 4.8% estimated, as the Industrial Production statistics came in at 14.1% against the forecast 13.3%. Consequently, this will slow demand from China, effecting commodity exporters around the globe.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index was down 0.6% at 276.32 helped a little off the session’s lows as conjecture that Portugal would be bailed out by the European Union attained traction. London’s FTSE 100 index was down 0.4% at 5824.66, Frankfurt’s DAX fell 0.9% to 6999.32, and Paris’s CAC-40 was 0.7% lower at 3935.75. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 76 points to 11907 and futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 index slid 6 points to 1283.50. Asian stock markets closed in the red Friday. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 decreased 1.2% and South Korea’s Kospi Composite lost 1.3%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.5% and China’s Shanghai Composite shed 0.8%.
The Economic calendar is fairly thin today. The PPI in U.K. printed at 1.1% below 1.4% estimate and greatly lower January’s 2.3% increase. Canada’s employment increased less than predicted and decreased from January’s 69.2K added jobs to just 15.1K added last month. The unemployment rate in Canada remained at 7.8% in February as in January; the general opinion had been for an improvement to 7.7%.
In forex trading, the USD and the Japanese Yen continue to benefit from the rising risk aversion signals. Commodity related foreign currencies such as CAD, AUD, NOK are amongst the biggest losers. NZD is remarkably trading higher. Commodities are sharply lower with Silver leading the pack. Silver is down 2.63% to US$34.40 an ounce, gold is flat at US$1412.11 per ounce and crude oil WTI mark traded below US$100 per barrel for the first time this month.
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