S&P 500 — US Large Cap Index
FTSE 100 — UK Blue Chips
Euro Stoxx 50 — Eurozone Leaders
DAX 40 — German Equities
CAC 40 — French Market Index
Nikkei 225 — Japan Benchmark
Hang Seng — Hong Kong Index
Shanghai Composite — China Mainland
ASX 200 — Australian Market
TSX Composite — Canada Index
Nifty 50 — India Large Cap
STI Index — Singapore Market
KOSPI — South Korea Index
Bovespa — Brazil Equities
JSE Top 40 — South Africa Index
IPC Index — Mexico Market
- The Euro remains practically flat around 0.8650, following UK Retail Sales data.
- Markets pay little attention to February’s UK consumption figures, as they predate Iran’s war.
- Inflation in Spain accelerated in March to its highest level since 2024.
The Euro (EUR) keeps trading sideways against the British Pound (GBP) on Friday, oscillating within a tight range around the 0.8650 level for the fourth consecutive day, on track for a 0.25% weekly decline. The stronger-than-expected UK Retail Sales figures released earlier on the day have failed to provide any significant support to the Sterling.
Data released by National Statistics earlier on Friday revealed that retail consumption fell for the first time in the last three months in February, by 0.4%, following a 2% increase in January. The market consensus had anticipated a sharper, 0.8% decline.
Excluding fuel, sales of all other items have shown a similar pattern, falling 0.4% on the month after a 2.2% gain in January, yet remaining above the -0.8% market consensus. Year on year, Retail Sales growth eased to 2.5%, from an upwardly revised 4.8% growth in the previous month, while the Core Retail Sales slowed down to 3.4% from 5.9% in January.
These figures have had a limited impact on the market as they predate the start of the war in Iran. Data from March, which will show the impact of a sharp decline in consumer confidence and a sharp uptick in prices due to the surge in Oil prices, is likely to have more relevance.
The Euro, on the other hand, remains on its back foot, also weighed by the pressure of higher Oil prices in the Eurozone economy. Spain’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) accelerated to 3.3% year-on-year in March, its highest level in 14 months, adding pressure on the European Central Bank (ECB) to hike interest rates in April.
