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**U.S. Market:**
Wall Street rebounded overnight, with the Nasdaq rising 1.3%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 1.1%, and the S&P 500 climbing 1.0%. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield increased by 3 basis points to 4.28%. Crude oil prices fell 2.5% to $69.20 per barrel.
**Asian Markets:**
Asian stock markets closed higher on Wednesday, led by the Hang Seng Index, which rose 2.8%. The Shenzhen Index gained 0.5%, and the Nikkei Index increased by 0.3%. However, Australia’s ASX Index fell 0.7%, with the consumer staples sector seeing the largest decline of 3.6%.
**European Markets:**
European stocks opened sharply higher, with the DAX Index rising 3.0%, while the Stoxx Index and CAC Index gained 2.0%, and the FTSE Index increased by 0.7%. By the close, the FTSE Index ended flat, while other European markets saw significant gains, with the DAX Index closing up 3.4% and the CAC Index up 1.6%.
**Forex Market:**
The U.S. dollar weakened overall but saw a brief rebound in early European trading. It continued to weaken through the New York morning and afternoon sessions. The Australian dollar traded within a range of 0.6235/0.63415 before the Asian session, staying near the upper end of the range. It dropped 30 pips during the Asian session before rebounding near 0.6535. During the European session, it climbed above 0.6280 and later reached a high of 0.6327 in the New York session. The New Zealand dollar rose to a high of 0.5717 against the U.S. dollar during the New York session. The euro strengthened to 1.0789 against the dollar, while the British pound rose to 1.28855. The U.S. dollar weakened against the Japanese yen, falling to 148.40.
**Economic Data:**
The U.S. composite PMI for February rose to 51.6, above the initial estimate of 50.4. January durable goods orders were revised up to a 3.2% increase from the previous 3.1%. January factory orders met expectations, growing by 1.7%. The ISM services index for February increased to 53.5, higher than January’s 52.8 and above the expected 52.5. Prices paid, new orders, and employment sub-indices all exceeded expectations. Overall, U.S. economic data performed well, especially the services sector data, which exceeded forecasts and somewhat limited further declines in the U.S. dollar.
**Top News:**
– China announced plans to strengthen coordination between fiscal and monetary policies, expand key sector bond issuance, and enhance coordination between financial and technology policies. This announcement had a limited impact on the market, with little change in the renminbi exchange rate.
– Germany announced plans to ease fiscal policy to reform European defense, following the U.S. decision to suspend military funding support for Ukraine. After the announcement, both the euro and the pound strengthened significantly against the dollar.
– U.S. President Donald Trump announced a one-month delay in auto parts tariffs after meetings with automakers and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Despite making some disparaging remarks about Trudeau on social media, Trump confirmed the decision later in the day. This news further pressured the U.S. dollar, particularly against the Canadian dollar.
Here are the latest mid-market rates:
Currency Pair | Mid-market Rate |
---|---|
NZD/USD | 0.5726 |
NZD/AUD | 0.9041 |
NZD/JPY | 85.2 |
NZD/CNY | 4.1416 |
NZD/EUR | 0.5306 |
NZD/GBP | 0.4441 |
NZD/HKD | 4.4484 |
NZD/SGD | 0.7614 |