Daily Economics Dashboard - 2 February 2021

Download an overview of key economic and financial metrics on 2 February 2021 2020.

Equities: Globally, equities are higher. In Europe, gains have been recorded by the CAC 40 (+1.7%), DAX (+1.2%), STOXX 600 (+1.1%) and FTSE 250 (+1.0%). In Asia, the CSI 300 and S&P / ASX 200 both closed +1.5% higher, while the KOSPI (+1.3%), Hang Seng (+1.2%) and TOPIX (+0.9%) were also up on close. In the US, futures for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are currently +0.9% and +0.8%.
VIX: Following a -12% decrease over Monday, the CBOE market volatility index has declined a further-8.3% this morning to 27.8. The Euro Stoxx 50 volatility index is also lower, down -8.1% to 25.4. Both indexes remain above their long term average.
Bonds: The UK 10-year gilt yield, US 10-year treasury yield and German 10-year bund yield have all softened +3bps this morning to 0.35%, 1.11% and -0.49%, respectively.
Currency: The euro has depreciated to $1.20 and sterling is currently $1.37. Hedging benefits for US dollar denominated investors into the UK and the eurozone are at 0.54% and 1.36% per annum on a five-year basis.
Baltic Dry: The Baltic Dry decreased for the seventh consecutive session on Monday, down -0.6% to 1,444, a four-week low. The index remains -22% lower than the four-month high seen in mid January. Prices have been pushed down by the capesize index, which is now at its lowest level since December 22nd after declining -1% yesterday.
Oil: The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent Crude have increased +2.5% and +2.4% this morning to $54.87 and $57.68, their highest prices since January and February 2020, respectively.
Eurozone GDP: In Q4 2020, GDP for the eurozone contracted -0.7% q-q, in line with market expectations. Therefore, over 2020 as a whole, the trading bloc’s GDP declined -6.8%. This compares to a -3.5% contraction in the US economy over 2020 and +3.0% annual growth in Chinese GDP.