Economic Data
(EU) ECB: €1.1B borrowed in overnight loan facility v €11.0B prior; €755.3B parked in deposit facility vs. €768.9B prior
(CH) Swiss Feb Trade Balance (CHF):2.7B v 1.8Be r; Real Exports M/M: +9.2% v +0.3%e; Real Imports M/M: -12.3% v +5.5% prior
(FR) France Mar Preliminary PMI Manufacturing: 47.6 v 50.2e (4-month low); PMI Services: 50.0 v 50.3e
(DK) Denmark Mar Consumer Confidence: -0.4 v -4.0e
(ZA) South Africa Feb CPI (all items) M/M: 0.6% v 0.8%e; Y/Y: 6.1% v 6.4%e
(TW) Taiwan Feb Unemployment Rate: 4.2% v 4.2%e
(TW) Taiwan Central Bank said to have kept its Benchmark Discount Rate unchanged at 1.875%
(HK) Hong Kong Q4 Overall Balance of Payments: $49.8B v $23.6B prior
(HK) Hong Kong Feb Composite CPI Y/Y: 4.7% v 5.2%e
(DE) Germany Mar Advanced PMI Manufacturing: 48.1 v 51.0e; PMI Services: 51.8 v 53.1e
(EU) Euro Zone Mar Advanced PMI Manufacturing: 47.7 v 49.5e; PMI Services: 48.7 v 49.2e; PMI Composite: 48.7 v 49.6e
(IT) Italy Jan Non-EU Trade Balance: -€1.5B v -€5.1B prior month
(RU) Russia Gold & Forex Reserve w/e Mar 16th: $505.4B v 507.7B prior
(UK) Feb Retail Sales Ex Auto Fuel M/M: -0.8% v -0.5%e; Y/Y: 1.0% v 2.3%e
(UK) Feb Retail Sales (includes Auto Fuel) M/M: -0.8% v -0.5%e; Y/Y: 1.0% v 2.4%e
(EU) Euro Zone Jan Industrial New Orders M/M: -2.3% v -2.2%e; Y/Y: -3.3% v -3.1%e
Fixed Income:
(UK) DMO sold £900M in 0.625% I/L 2042 Gilts; Avg Yield 0.060% v 0.527% prior; Bid-to-cover: 1.73X v 1.85x prior
(HU) Hungary Debt Agency (AKK) sold total HUF45B in 2015, 2017 and 2022 Bonds
SPEAKERS/FIXED INCOME/FX/COMMODITIES/ERRATUM
Notes/Observations
China preliminary March HSBC PMI declines and stays below the pivotal 50 level for the fifth month
Major European PMI data misses expectations with manufacturing moving below 50 across the board
UK Feb Retail Sales data was weaker than expected with lower back month revisions to boot
ECB's Draghi Says Euro zone Situation "Stabilizing" - Japan registers a trade surplus (first in 5 months)
Equities
FTSE 100 -0.90% 5840, DAX -1.3% at 6979, CAC-40 -1.5% at 3474, IBEX-35 -1.3% at 8380, FTSE MIB 16,481 -1.5%, SMI -0.70% at 6248
European shares dipped in negative territory after China's manufacturing data contracted. Europe's economic horsepower, Germany also reported a recessionary PMI with the figure coming below the 50 mark.
In individual earnings, Baloise [BALN.CH] dropped after reporting a much lower net profit due to negative non-recurring effects as a result of economic development. Kingfisher [KGF.UK] dropped even after strong results as company noted that retail economic conditions remain challenging. Among winners, Lanxess [LXS.DE] reported better than expected earnings and rose its dividend. Hermes [RMS.FR] also rose after beating estimates and offering an exceptional dividend.