Daily Economics Dashboard - 3 March 2021

Download an overview of key economic and financial metrics on 3 March 2021.

Equities: Globally, stocks are higher. In Europe, gains have been recorded this morning by the FTSE 250 (+1.2%), DAX (+0.9%), CAC 40 (+0.8%) and STOXX 600 (+0.6%). In Asia, the Hang Seng (+2.7%), CSI 300 (+1.9%), KOSPI (+1.3%), S&P / ASX 200 (+0.8%) and TOPIX (+0.5%) all closed higher. In the US, futures for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are +0.6% and +0.7%, respectively.
S&P 500: The S&P 500 index is currently up +25.2% compared to one year ago. Multiple sectors have contributed to the overall growth of the index, with gains recorded by Information Technology (+42.1%), Materials (+38.1%), Consumer Discretionary sector (+37.8%), Communication Services (+33.0%), Industrials (+23.0%), Financials (+19.2%) and Health Care (+17.4%).
VIX: After increasing +3% over Tuesday, the CBOE market volatility index has decreased -5.6% this morning to 22.8, albeit remaining elevated compared to its long term average (LTA) of 19.9. The Euro Stoxx 50 volatility index is also lower this morning, down -6.1% to 20.5, below its LTA of 23.9.
Bonds: The UK 10-year treasury yield and US 10-year treasury yield have both softened +4bps to 0.72% and 1.44%, while the German 10-year bund yield is up +2bps to -0.32%.
Currency: Sterling and the euro have appreciated to $1.40 and $1.21, respectively. Hedging benefits for US dollar denominated investors into the UK and the eurozone are at 0.48% and 1.58% per annum on a five-year basis.
Oil: Brent Crude and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) have increased +1.6% and +1.5% to $63.71 and $60.66 per barrel, respectively.
Baltic Dry: The Baltic Dry increased for the first time in five sessions on Tuesday, up +1.3% to 1673, its highest daily increase in two weeks. The index remains -10% below the four-month high seen in mid January 2021. Yesterday, prices were driven higher by capesize rates, which increased +4%.
Gold: Gold was priced at $1,735 per troy ounce on Tuesday, which is -11% down from the start of the year and -16% lower than the record $2,063 reached in early August 2020.