Today’s Outlook:
• The S&P 500 lost 1.1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 205 points lower, or 0.5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed about 2%, as Nvidia shares dropped more than 6%. Other major tech names such as Meta, Amazon and Alphabet lost more than 2% each, while Tesla slid more than 5.5%. Stocks hit session lows after the White House said that President Donald Trump will unveil new tariffs on auto imports during a press conference at 4 p.m. ET. General Motors and Ford shares each dropped more than 1%, while Stellantis was down more than 2%.
• FIXED INCOME AND CURRENCY : The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield rose more than 2 basis points to 4.333%. The 2-year Treasury yield also added 2 basis points to 4.004%. One basis point is equivalent to 0.01%. Yields and prices move in opposit e directions. U.S. Treasury yields moved higher Wednesday as investors awaited further economic data amid growing fears of a recession. This is largely due to Trump’s fast-changing tariff policies, which have raised concerns about the possibility of a global trade war and lagging growth in the U.S. economy. This was alongside a dip in consumer confidence data on Tuesday, which showed that U.S. consumers’ near-term outlook on income, business and job prospects plunged to a 12-year low. The U.S. dollar gained against the euro and yen on Wednesday as traders mulled whether tariffs planned by U.S. President Donald Trump to be announced next week will be less onerous than feared. The euro has failed to get a boost from tariff optimism this week and is on pace for its sixth consecutive day of declines against the U.S. currency. It reached $1.0766 on Wednesday, the lowest since March 6. The Japanese yen weakened 0.37% to 150.48 per dollar, with the greenback gaining in line with rising U.S. Treasury yields. The British pound was last down 0.35% at $1.2898. Data earlier showed British inflation slowed to an annual rate of 2.8% in February from 3.0% in January. The Australian dollar was last up 0.16% at $0.6311. Data earlier showed that Australia’s consumer inflation slowed in February.
• EUROPE : The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 0.7% lower, with autos down 2.6%, extending losses after a White House official told CNBC that U.S. President Donald Trump could make an announcement on duties as soon as Wednesday. However, U.K. stocks bucked the regional trend, with the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 gaining 0.3% and 0.28% respectively. European stocks closed lower Wednesday, with autos tumbling as a fresh U.S. tariff announcement loomed. While Britain’s Finance Minister Rachel Reeves announced billions of dollars worth of spending cuts in her Spring Statement on Wednesday, to close a budget shortfall amid slowing growth and higher borrowing costs.
• -The euro has failed to get a boost from tariff optimism this week and is on pace for its sixth consecutive day of declines against the U.S. currency. It reached $1.0766 on Wednesday, the lowest since March 6. The British pound was last down 0.35% at $1.2898. Data earlier showed British inflation slowed to an annual rate of 2.8% in February from 3.0% in January.
• ASIA : Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.60% to close at 23,483.32 while mainland China’s CSI 300 slipped 0.33% to close at 3,919.36. The Hang Seng Tech index, which tracks the 30 largest technology companies listed in Hong Kong is 0.61% higher as it dances around the brink of correction. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.71% to close at 7,999. Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.65% to close at 38,027.29 while the Topix added 0.55% to close at 2,812.89. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 1.08% to end the trading day at 2,643.94 while the small-cap Kosdaq traded 0.73% higher to close at 716.48. Asia-Pacific markets traded higher Wednesday, tracking Wall Street gains on expectations that U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs could be softer than expected earlier.
• -The Japanese yen weakened 0.37% to 150.48 per dollar, with the greenback gaining in line with rising U.S. Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Wednesday that the central bank must raise interest rates if persistent increases in food costs lead to broadbased inflation but cautioned that underlying inflation remains below its 2% annual target.
• COMMODITIES : Gold prices eased on Wednesday as the dollar and U.S. bond yields climbed, although concerns over the Trump administration’s fresh tariffs kept prices above $3,000 per ounce level. Spot gold was down 0.1% at $3,016.71 an ounce. U.S. gold futures settled 0.1% lower at $3,022.50. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that automobile tariffs are coming soon, but indicated that not all of his threatened levies would be imposed on April 2 and some countries may get breaks. Investors worried that Trump’s tariffs would stoke inflation and hinder economic growth are taking refuge in safe-haven assets like gold. Brent crude futures gained $1, or 1.37%, to $74.02 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose $1.06, or 1.54%, to $70.06 a barrel. Oil prices rose on Wednesday, buoyed by government data showing U.S. crude oil and fuel inventories fell last week and by mounting concerns about tighter global supply following the U.S. threat of tariffs on nations buying Venezuelan crude. Meanwhile, trade in Venezuelan oil to top buyer China stalled on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on countries buying from Caracas, days after U.S. sanctions targeting China’s imports from Iran.
• JCI closed in a euphoric moment, where it experienced +3.8% gain yesterday to 6472.36 level, in which the gain was supported by the rally of SOE big banks especially KBMI IV – Himbara BBRI, BMRI and BBNI (+5.26%, +8.65% and +8.97%) supported by attractive dividend yield catalyst and BBCA gain of +5.9% also enlivened the JCI. Despite the significant rise in big banks yesterday, we should still be in a wait and see situation and watch out for downside risk post cum date as well as the unstable socio-political situation that may cause the market to be volatile. Intraday JCI resistance level is at 6500 area.
Company News
• BBTN: Investors Agree to Acquire BVIS, BTN Sows Rp751 Billion Dividend
• BRMS: Revenue Soars 248 Percent, BRMS 2024 Posts USD760.45 Million Deficit
• CBDK: Issuer Owned by Aguan Buyback Shares Rp1 Trillion
Domestic & Global News
Meeting Apindo, Luhut Admits RI’s Business Regulations Lose to Vietnam
Trump’s Tariffs: Vietnam to Cut Import Duties on LNG and Cars
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