Daily Economics Dashboard - 26 March 2021

Download an overview of key economic and financial metrics on 26 March 2021.

Equities: Globally, stocks are higher. In Europe, gains have been recorded by the DAX (+0.8%), FTSE 250 (+0.7%), STOXX 600 (+0.5%) and CAC 40 (+0.2%) this morning. In Asia, the CSI 300 (+2.3%), Hang Seng (+1.6%), TOPIX (+1.5%), KOSPI (+1.1%), and S&P / ASX 200 (+0.5%) all closed higher. In the US, futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average are +0.3% and +0.2%.
VIX: After decreasing -7% over Thursday, the CBOE market volatility index is down a further -0.8% this morning to 19.7, below its long term average of 19.9. The Euro Stoxx 50 volatility is also lower, down -2.5% to 18.4, below its LTA of 23.9.
Bonds: The UK 10-year gilt yield, US 10-year treasury yield and German 10-year bund yield have all softened +2bps this morning to 0.76%, 1.65% and -0.36%.
Currency: Sterling has appreciated to $1.38, while the euro is currently $1.18. Hedging benefits into the UK and Eurozone are currently 0.59% and 1.73%, respectively on a five year basis.
Oil: Brent Crude and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) are +2.1% and+2.3% higher this morning at $63.27 and $59.91, respectively.
Baltic Dry: The Baltic Dry decreased for the third consecutive session on Thursday, down -1.0% to 2172.
US Unemployment: There were 684k new unemployment applications in the week to 20th March, below market expectations of 730k and lower than 781k last week. This is the lowest number of weekly jobless claims since the pandemic hit in March 2020.
German Business Climate: The German Business Climate Index (BCI) was at its strongest level in nearly two years in March at 96.6, higher than the 92.7 recorded in February and above market expectations of 93.2, according to the Ifo institute. The Index which polls 9,000 companies in manufacturing, services, trade and construction, found that businesses were more optimistic in March regarding the next six months, with the expectations component of the survey rising from 95.0 in February to 100.4.