Interest rate markets are poised for interest rate decisions in Europe and Canada this week. US stocks hit fresh record highs, as did gold after more falls in US bond yields. China’s National People’s Congress meets and may cut its growth forecast.
In our bonus deep dive interview, ANZ’s Head of Sustainable Finance Katharine Tapley talks about green bond issuance in 2024 in the wake of last year’s COP.
5 things to know:
US stocks closed at fresh record highs. Bond yields fell on dovish talk from the Fed about Quantitative Tightening, which lifted gold over US$2,090/ounce. Oil spiked overnight after Opec+ and Russia extended production cuts.
Global rates markets will watch the Bank of Canada on Wednesday night and the European Central Bank on Thursday night for easing signs, ahead of US non-farm payrolls on Friday, says ANZ Group Chief Economist Richard Yetsenga.
China’s Purchasing Manager Index surveys of activity in manufacturing and services in February were in line with expectations. ANZ Senior China Strategist Zhaopeng Xing sees economic stabilisation.
Rate cuts look much further away in Australia than in Europe, Canada or the United States, even though inflation data was weaker than forecast last week, Richard says.
The National People’s Congress meets this week and could cut China’s GDP growth target to 4.5% to 5%, Zhaopeng says.
Cheers
Bernard
PS: Catch you tomorrow with a closer look at the NPC’s energy consumption per capita targets for China.
