Stocks retreat as bond yields spiked - 19.3.2021

The Dollar strengthening has halted currently . The live dollar index data show the ICE US Dollar index, a measure of the dollar’s strength against a basket of six rival currencies, jumped 0.5% Thursday despite US Labor Department report 770 thousand Americans sought unemployment benefits over the last week, up from 725 thousand the previous week.

Both GBP/USD and EUR/USD reversed their climbing Thursday as the Bank of England kept interest rates and its bond buying program unchanged on Thursday. Both pairs are lower currently. USD/JPY reversed its sliding while AUD/USD’s reversed its climbing Thursday with both yen and Australian dollar lower against the Greenback currently.

Futures on three main US stock indexes are up currently after a sharp pullback yesterday as bond yields advance resumed. Wall Street ended solidly lower yesterday as US Treasury 10-year yield jumped to the 1.754% - the highest since early 2020 before easing. The three main US stock benchmarks recorded daily losses ranging from 0.5% to 3.0%, led by technology shares.

European stock indexes are mixed today after closing higher Thursday led by basic resources shares. Asian indexes are mostly lower today with Hang Seng leading losses.