ASIA/PACIFIC
Asian markets closed mostly lower on Monday as weak U.S. economic data reignited concerns over slowing global growth, while reports of impending reciprocal tariffs by the U.S. administration on countries like India and China added to investor uncertainty. Mainland China’s CSI300 index edged down 0.22%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended the session 0.58% lower, reflecting broad-based caution in the region. Japanese markets remained closed for a public holiday. Meanwhile, Australia’s stock market rebounded, snapping a five-session losing streak, with banks and utilities leading the gains. However, sentiment was dented by a sharp 20% plunge in WiseTech, as the software giant faced leadership turmoil.
EUROPE
European markets ended the trading day with a mixed performance, driven by German economic data and significant corporate news. Germany’s economy shrank by 0.2% in the last quarter of 2024, as detailed in the Bundesbank’s report, and investors reacted to the German snap federal election results. The Stoxx 600 index closed slightly lower, down 0.08%. Euro area inflation for January was confirmed at 2.5%, a slight increase from 2.4%. Notably, Prosus’s announcement of a $4.3 billion takeover bid for Just Eat Takeaway resulted in a dramatic divergence: Just Eat shares surged 54%, while Prosus shares fell sharply by 8.8%.
AMERICAS
U.S. stocks opened higher on Monday, rebounding from last week’s sell-off as investors shifted their focus to corporate earnings and economic indicators. The week ahead is packed with key earnings reports from major companies, including Zoom, Home Depot, Salesforce, eBay, Paramount, Dell, HP, Warner Bros. Discovery, and the highly anticipated results from AI powerhouse Nvidia.
AFRICA
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) kept its key interest rate at 27.25%, maintaining the highest borrowing costs in the country’s monetary system for 11 consecutive months. Despite expectations of significant rate cuts by the CBE this year, Fitch Ratings forecasts that Egyptian banks’ net interest margins (NIMs) will remain strong.
MIDDLE EAST
Gulf stock markets mostly declined on Monday. Saudi Arabia’s index fell 0.6%, pressured by a 1.8% drop in Saudi Aramco shares following a JPMorgan forecast of no performance-linked dividend this year. Despite this, Saudi banks anticipate strong lending growth in 2025, according to Al Rajhi Capital. Dubai’s index decreased by 0.5%, with Emaar Properties down 1.8%. Abu Dhabi’s index eased 0.2%, while Qatar’s index gained 0.2%, driven by a 1.2% rise in Qatar Islamic Bank. In broader financial news, Kuwait is set to transition to a developed market, as JPMorgan reclassifies it from emerging market status. This change, also affecting Qatar, will involve a gradual removal of both nations from JPMorgan’s Emerging Markets Bond Index (EMBI), starting March 31 and spanning six months.
COMMODITIES
GOLD
Gold prices climbed on Monday, with spot gold up 0.2% to $2,941.60 as of 09:33 a.m. ET and U.S. gold futures rising by the same percentage to $2,957.50. This increase was driven by tariff concerns and growing investment in gold ETFs, including SPDR Gold Trust, which saw its holdings reach a high of 904.38 tonnes on Friday, the most since August 2023.
OIL
Brent crude futures saw a marginal increase of 0.07%, reaching $74.48 per barrel at 9:48 a.m. ET. Conversely, U.S. WTI crude futures declined by 0.04%, settling at $70.37. Investor sentiment was influenced by the ongoing ambiguity of Ukraine peace negotiations and the possibility of resumed Iraqi oil exports
