Daily Economics Dashboard - 25 March 2021
An overview of key economic and financial metrics.
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Download an overview of key economic and financial metrics on 25 March 2021.
Equities: Globally, stocks are mixed. In Europe, both the CAC 40 and FTSE 250 are -0.3% lower, while the STOXX 600 and the DAX are both down -0.2% this morning. Meanwhile in Asia, the TOPIX (+1.4%), KOSPI (+0.4%), and S&P / ASX 200 (+0.2%) all closed higher, while the Hang Seng (-0.1%) was down on close and the CSI 300 closed flat. In the US, futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average are +0.2% and +0.3%.
VIX: After increasing +4% over Wednesday, the CBOE market volatility index has since declined -2.6% this morning to 20.7, remaining just above its long term average of 19.9. Meanwhile, the Euro Stoxx 50 volatility index nudged higher, up +2.1% to 18.2, below its LTA of 23.9.
Bonds: The UK 10-year gilt yield compressed -2bps to 0.73% this morning, while the German 10-year bund yield is -1bp lower at -0.37% and the US 10-year treasury yield has softened +1bp to 1.62%.
Currency: Sterling and the euro are currently $1.37 and $1.18, remaining at their lowest levels since February 2021 and November 2020, respectively. Hedging benefits into the UK and Eurozone are currently 0.60% and 1.72%, respectively on a five year basis.
Oil: Brent Crude and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) are -1.8% and -2.2% lower this morning, at $63.23 and $59.86, respectively.
Baltic Dry: The Baltic Dry decreased for the second consecutive session on Wednesday, down -3.4% to 2194, its largest daily decline in over a month.
Eurozone PMIs: The Eurozone Manufacturing PMI increased from 57.9 in February to its highest reading on record at 62.4 in March, above forecasts of 57.7. The Services PMI also increased to 48.8 in March, up from 45.7 in February and beating expectations of 46.0. While this figure remains in contractionary territory (below 50), it is the slowest rate of contraction since the PMI was last above the 50-neutral mark in September 2020.