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Navigating The Week Ahead |
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Headlines from Past Week |
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US |
US consumer prices came in hotter than expected in March, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Wednesday. The Consumer Price Index rose 0.4% over the previous month and 3.5% over the prior year in March, an acceleration from February's 3.2% annual gain in prices. (Read more on Yahoo Finance) JPMorgan Chase shares fell by the most in almost four years on Friday as an underwhelming outlook for its lending business overshadowed an increase in first-quarter profits at the US’s largest bank. The bank’s guidance for net interest income disappointed investors, and its shares closed down 6.5 per cent, their biggest one-day drop since June 2020. (Read more on FT.com)
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EUROPE |
The European Central Bank held interest rates at a record high on Thursday but signalled it could start cutting as soon as June. ECB President Christine Lagarde said that if a fresh assessment increased policymakers' confidence that inflation is heading back to target, then it "would be appropriate" to cut interest rates, a comment taken as affirmation of a June 6 move. (Read more on Reuters) UK gross domestic product rose 0.1% in February, the Office for National Statistics said Friday, providing another sign of a return to sluggish economic growth this year. The month-on-month figure was in line with a projection in a Reuters poll. On an annual basis, GDP was 0.2% lower. (Read more on CNBC)
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ASIA PACIFIC |
Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said the central bank would not directly respond to currency moves in setting monetary policy, brushing aside market speculation that the yen's sharp falls could force it to raise interest rates. (Read more on Reuters) China’s exports slumped in March, dealing a blow to hopes that booming sales abroad will offset weak demand at home and drive growth in the world’s second-largest economy. Exports shrank 7.5% in dollar terms in March from a year earlier, while imports fell 1.9%, the customs administration said Friday. (Read more on Bloomberg)
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OTHERS |
Iran launched an unprecedented large-scale drone and missile attack at Israel on Saturday night, in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike on an Iranian diplomatic complex in Syria. More than 300 projectiles – including around 170 drones and over 120 ballistic missiles – were fired toward Israel in an immense aerial attack overnight. (Read more on CNN)
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AFRICA REGIONAL |
Economic growth is set to rise for the next two years in Sub-Saharan Africa, but not enough to make a significant dent in poverty on the continent, the World Bank said in a report on Monday. The region's economy is set to expand 3.4% this year and 3.8% in 2024 as falling inflation boosts private consumption, up from 2.4% in 2023, the World Bank said in its biannual Africa's Pulse report. (Read more on Reuters) The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange has re-based indices following the introduction of the new structured currency Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG). Price sheets across boards on the bourse namely the Equity Board, REIT Board, and ETF Board, were distrivuted in ZiG currency since Monday, April 8, 2024. Indices were also rebased to 100. (Read more on The Herald)
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MAURITIUS |
A total of 2,667 new vehicles were registered between January and February 2024 according to the Motors Vehicles Dealers Association, compared to the same period last year. This marks a significant increase, indicating a strong recovery in the Mauritian new vehicle market. (Read more on Defimedia.info)
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Source: Yahoo Finance, FT.com, Reuters, Bloomberg, CNBC, CNN, The Herald, Defimedia |
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Market Scorecard |
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Source: Yahoo Finance, Investing.com, Stock Exchange of Mauritius |
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