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Source: Copyright © 2021 Kalkine Media Pty Ltd.
Summary
- FTSE 100 is expected to open steeply lower on Friday, 19 March
- Asian equities also faced wrath after the Bank of Japan decided to modify the buying of assets
- Great Britain pound (GBP) vs United States dollar (USD) pair traded little changed in the negative region
FTSE 100 is likely to open steeply lower on Friday, 19 March, as renewed concerns over the apparently faulty roll-out of Covid-19 vaccine in Europe alarmed the market participants. There were reports of alleged blood clots in the people who got the AstraZeneca-Oxford University Covid-19 jab. However, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has reaffirmed the benefits of the Oxford jab and has reiterated that people should still go ahead to get their COVID-19 vaccine.
Vaccine trouble
Following the widespread jittery with regard to the vaccination programme and still rising cases of the mutated strain of coronavirus, several parts of European countries are facing the risks of further lockdowns. Oil prices tumbled sharply in response to the reimposition of curbs in Europe, with the French government imposing a month-long lockdown in Paris. Both Brent and WTI crude plummeted more than 7 per cent overnight.
Asian markets tumble
Asian equities also faced the wrath after the Bank of Japan decided to modify the buying of assets, widening the target band for its 10-year yields. Reacting to the development, Japan’s Nikkei 225 plunged more than 1.50 per cent in the session today.
Meanwhile, China’s Shanghai Composite shed 1.71 per cent to 3,403.95, South Korea’s Kospi tumbled 0.82 per cent to 3,040.75, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.99 per cent to 28,820.95, while India’s Nifty 50 traded 0.10 per cent lower at 14,543.70. Australia’s ASX 200 slumped 0.56 per cent to close at 6,708.20.
The futures linked to the benchmark FTSE 100 index collapsed as much as 1.66 per cent, indicating a steep correction to the key index and negative opening for the London equities. Market participants will be waiting for the cues from the macro data release with the Gfk consumer confidence set to be released later in the day.
Wall Street corrects
Earlier yesterday, the Dow Industrials corrected marginally from the 33,000 levels, sliding down 0.46 per cent to 32,862.30. The broader share barometer S&P 500 slipped 1.48 per cent to 3,915.46, while the tech-heavy benchmark Nasdaq Composite dropped a little more than 3 per cent to 13,116.17, after the blue-chip shares of Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) witnessed a fall of about 3.39 per cent.
GBP trades little changed
The Great Britain pound (GBP) vs United States dollar (USD) pair traded little changed in the negative region after the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) maintained the key lending rates near zero with the ‘appropriate’ stance. At around 0658 GMT, the GBP to USD pair was trading at 1.3923, down 0.03 per cent from the previous close of 1.3920.
During the day so far, a unit of sterling has hovered between a high and low of 1.3935 and 1.3893 at the interbank foreign exchange market. The BoE had fixed a reference exchange rate of 1.3889 USD and 1.1667 EUR against a unit of pound sterling on 17 March.
