7th April - Market and Economy Review

April 7, 2014 - PRLog -- Stock Port Associates is one of the world’s largest and most established offshore investment firms operating within a tax-favorable jurisdiction. Whether it’s dealing with new regulations, setting up an offshore presence, attracting new investors or identifying independent directors, we have the expertise to assist you.

7th April - Market and Economy Review

Global Market Data as of 7th April 2014

Europe

FTSE 100          6,695.56 (+0.70%)          Dax         9,695.77 (+0.70%)

CAC 40          4,484.55 (+0.79%)          BEL 20   3,149.35 (+0.07%)

Madrid IBEX         10,677.20 (+0.88%)          Zurich SMI 8,503.00 (-0.22%)

Asia

Moscow MCIEX   1,382.96 (+1.47%)          Sydney ASX 5,416.10 (-0.23%)

Nikkei 225          14,809.05 (-1.69%)          Hang Seng 22,366.17 (-0.64%)

Shang SSE Comp  2,058.83 (+0.74%)

United States

Dow Jones          16,412.71 (-0.96%)          NASDAQ 4,127.73 (-2.60%)

S&P 500 1,865.09 (-1.25%)

Last week saw a sharp decline in the markets after poor data from China, Japan, Europe and the United States. What started out as a positive week seeing many of the global indexes posting good gains turned sour as worse than expected data out of the US rounded off the week.

Expected to have added over 200,000 new jobs in March, the US new payroll figures disappointed on Friday coming in at just under forecast at 192,000. This had a surprising effect on the markets as there was a huge sell off Friday afternoon, particularly in the tech sector. With unemployment still at 6.7% and payroll figures for both January and February being revised higher it is thought that the same will happen for March's figures. Even so many analysts were shocked at the response and the negative vibe has continued into this week with a cautious start to trading in Asia.

Late last week the ECB met in Brussels to discuss the Eurozone's economic situation. With inflation at an all time low along with interest rates Mario Draghi for the first time hinted that the European Central Bank could possibly look to some QE of its own. Without stating any specific plans he suggested that the ECB may need to take a more proactive approach to rectifying the economic disparity Europe is facing at the moment and that for the time being things needed to stay as they were. This led the markets to retract any gains made previously and certainly dampened the run seen earlier in the week.

This weekend saw further demonstrations in the Ukraine. Donetsk, Luhansk and Khariv all saw pro-Russia rallies. The crisis does not seem to want to settle down as protestors continued to push for a full referendum on the return to full integration back with Moscow. Although initially reports stated that Russian troops had been removed from the borders it is now thought that thousands of troops are prepared to act is Putin gives the go ahead. With little sign that the issues surrounding the Crimea annexation will be resolved anytime soon the UN and the EU are both gearing up to address the situation again later this week. Obviously, discussions will be about sanctions and how they can be implemented, more posturing from the US will no doubt be on the cards however considering the reaction by Moscow to the first round of sanctions, unless something drastic is put on the table, very few people believe that the situation in the Ukraine will be resolved in the manner the Ukrainians and their neighbours would like.

Indian general elections start this week. The month long process which is the largest of its kind will decide the next political party of the world's biggest democracy. The current government has had a better than predicted run and will certainly have set the benchmark high. Infrastructure and overseas investment have been a staple of this Indian government, despite some criticisms the economy has improved significantly. The SENSEX is up 6% YTD, beating the S&P 500's 2%. Parliamentary elections in Indonesia also start this week. As one of the best performing Emerging Markets in South East Asia, the Indonesian elections will be watched closely by investors. The economy in Indo has proven especially strong and these elections are seen as the precursor to the Presidential elections in July.

Finally, more data is due out of China by the end of the week. Thursday see's March Trade Data and Friday we will have the CPI. There should be a light at the end of the tunnel for China even though the World Bank reduced its growth forecast from 7.7% to 7.6%, this is still better than the 7.5% the Chinese government itself quoted and is seen as sustainable should the government continue its stimulus program.

This week should start out relatively quiet, and as economic indicators are supplied there should be a good sense of direction moving forward. Expect the European and US markets to open slightly lower today and as the week progresses the indexes should start to recoup the selloff of last week.

Stock Port Associates (SPA) is one of the world’s largest and most established offshore investment firms operating solely within a tax-favorable jurisdiction. SPA employs seasoned market professionals with expertise in all asset classes with access to all major markets. To find out more please visit http://www.stockportassociates.com for more information or contact info@stockportassociates.com to be contacted by one of our representatives.

DISCLAIMER  The views, opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed on this service are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Stock Port Associates.All market data within this release is for your general information and enjoys indicative status only. Stock Port Associates does not accept any responsibility for its accuracy or for any use to which it may be put. All share prices and market indexes delayed at least 15 minutes. 52 week high and low values are calculated from close price data.