Dip buyers fuel stock rebound; Treasuries steady

Dip buyers drove a rebound in stocks after an earlier bout of selling pushed the Nasdaq 100 down 10% from a record. The S&P 500 rose by 1.95% to 3,841.94 while Dow Jones was up 572.16 points (1.85%) to 31,496.30.

What’s in the US$1.9 trillion stimulus bill passed by the Senate Senate

Democrats passed the latest version of the US$1.9 trillion stimulus bill after a more than 24-hour voting session that included the longest single vote in the chamber’s history. The plan includes a wave of new spending, an extension of jobless benefits, another round of direct household payments, money for state and local governments and an expansion of vaccinations and virus-testing programs including a national vaccine distribution program for all residents regardless of immigration status.

US job growth surges past estimates; unemployment dips to 6.2%

US employers added more jobs than forecast in February and the unemployment rate declined, suggesting the labor market is clawing its way forward again following several disappointing months. Payrolls increased 379,000 after an upwardly revised 166,000 January increase, according to a Labor Department report. The unemployment rate dropped to 6.2%.

US, EU agree to suspend tariffs in Boeing-Airbus dispute

The European Union and the US agreed to suspend tariffs on billions of dollars of each other’s products, easing a 17-year transatlantic dispute over illegal aid to the world’s biggest aircraft makers. President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed to the move on a call, the commission said in a statement.

German factory orders rise as economy grapples with longer curbs

German factory orders rose in January, suggesting manufacturing will continue to support the economy through extended coronavirus lockdowns. Demand increased 1.4%, nearly three times as much as expected and bolstered by orders from outside the country. Domestic demand declined.

China’s exports surge from 2020 lockdown as demand booms

China’s exports surged in the first two months of the year, reflecting strong global demand for manufactured goods and with figures partly skewed by the low base in 2020 when the economy was in lockdown. Exports jumped 60.6% in dollar terms in the January-February period from a year earlier, data from the General Administration of Customs showed. In February alone, exports more than doubled from last year.

Philippine inflation quickens further as food costs soar

Inflation in the Philippines continues to gather pace even as the economy struggles to pull itself out of recession, with the central bank wary of spillover effects from higher prices. Consumer prices rose 4.7% in February from a year earlier, the statistics agency reported. Higher prices of food and beverages, particularly meat, drove the increase.

Oil soars above US$66 with Saudi supply gamble buoying crude bulls

Oil rallied to the highest in nearly two years in New York after OPEC+ shocked markets with a decision to keep supply limited as the global economy starts to recover from a pandemic-driven slump. Brent crude for May settlement climbed US$2.62 to US$69.36 per barrel.

Source: Affin Hwang Research - 8 Mar 2021