Opening Mar 5

In Asian Equity Markets mainland Chinese shares were mixed in early trade, with the Shanghai composite declining more than 0.2 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined 0.55 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.57 percent, as shares of index heavyweight Softbank Groupdeclined around 1.6 percent while the Topix shed 0.78 percent. The Kospi in South Korea fell 0.77 percent, with chipmaker SK Hynix seeing its stock fell more than 1.5 percent. In Australia, the ASX 200 fell 0.67 percent in afternoon trade, with most sectors declining.

In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar held near a two-week high against its key rivals on Tuesday, underpinned by a resilient economy and a flagging euro ahead of an upcoming European Central Bank policy meeting. The euro in particular remained wobbly before the ECB meeting on Thursday. The ECB is facing growing pressure to address how to protect the euro zone economy from a protracted slowdown. The euro was little changed at $1.1337 after shedding 0.25 percent the previous day, when it brushed an 11-day low of $1.1309.

In Commodities Markets oil prices fell on Tuesday as markets eyed only modest prospects for growth in fuel demand, although OPEC-led efforts to cut output still offered some support. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were at $56.30 per barrel, down 29 cents, or 0.5 percent, from their last settlement. Brent crude futures were at $65.36 per barrel, down 31 cents, or 0.5 percent. WTI’s front-month price spread to Brent has declined from near parity in 2016 to an average discount of $8.50 per barrel since the start of 2019.

In US Equity Markets indices fell on Monday, weighed down by a weak U.S. construction spending report and declines in healthcare shares, as an initial rally on optimism over a U.S.-China trade deal faded. The S&P 500 lost 0.39 percent, to 2,792.81 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.23 percent, to 7,577.57. Healthcare, which has underperformed this year, was the biggest declining major S&P 500 sector, falling 1.3 percent. Shares of UnitedHealth Group fell 4.1 percent, weighing on the Dow, while shares of other health insurers also fell sharply.

In Bond Markets Treasury yields fell on Monday as the market retraced a counter-intuitive move higher made Friday in response to weak economic data. Yields rose on Friday in spite of soft U.S. manufacturing, personal income and spending data. The 10-year benchmark government yield, which serves as a proxy for the market’s view on the overall health of the economy, rose 4.4 basis points on March 1. Monday’s move lower was explained by analysts as a counter-reaction. The 10-year government yield was down 3.3 basis points, last at 2.722 percent.