Market Update

US equities finished the week with substantial losses, reflecting a gloomy market mood amid concerns that the Fed would hike rates aggressively and high US Treasury yields. The S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite nose-dived recording losses between 2.6% and 2.8%, each sitting at 4,271.78, …

Total assets on the Fed’s weekly balance sheet as of April 20, released this afternoon, declined to $8.955 trillion, roughly the same as on March 16 and below the levels of March 23 and April 13. Beyond the week-to-week ups and downs, caused by the peculiarities of Mortgage Backed Securities …

The number of total active drilling rigs in the United States rose by 2 this week, after an increase of 4 rigs in the week prior, according to new data from Baker Hughes published on Friday.The total rig count increased to 695 this week—257 rigs higher than the rig count …

The USD/CAD pair rallied roughly 140 pips on Friday to hit its highest level in over one month above the 1.2700 mark. That marks the largest one-day percentage gain since November. The pair rallied as a function of risk-off flows, with recent BoC hawkishness and strong data failing to support …

Oil slipped on Friday, posting a weekly loss of nearly 5%, on the prospect of weaker global growth, higher interest rates and COVID-19 lockdowns in China hurting demand even as the European Union considers a ban on Russian oil that would tighten supply.Brent crude settled down $1.68, or 1.6%, at …

Total assets on the Fed’s weekly balance sheet as of April 20, released this afternoon, declined to $8.955 trillion, roughly the same as on March 16 and below the levels of March 23 and April 13. Beyond the week-to-week ups and downs, caused by the peculiarities of Mortgage Backed Securities …

Cleveland Fed President and FOMC member Lorreta Mester, speaking in an interview on CNBC, said on Friday that the Fed wants to see tighter financial conditions, though not all at once. “We are in a recalibration phase for monetary policy,” she said, adding that the Fed’s goal is to bring …

French voters head to the polls on Sunday to cast their ballots in the final round of a close presidential race between incumbent President Emmanuel Macron and rival Marine Le Pen.Centrist Macron was seen taking the lead against his far-right opponent in the final day of campaigning, taking a 57.5% …

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Friday that it is worth considering steps to lower US tariffs on Chinese goods in order to ease inflation, and that there would be some “desirable effects” of lowering tariffs. Speaking in a CNBC interview earlier in the day, Yellen stated on Friday …

Data released in Canada on Friday showed a better-than-expected reading on February retail sales. Analysts point out that retail sales volumes held their own in February and March, despite the headwinds to goods spending of mounting inflationary pressure and reopening service industries. The 0.1% gain in February was a little …