IGI Logo

Market Review

US: Stocks retreated on Friday as technology shares remained in a funk, even as investors largely approved of President Donald Trump’s pick of Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve. Still, the S&P 500 squeaked out a January gain, despite Friday’s losses and volatile trading this month.

Asia: Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Monday as investors assessed private data for China’s factory activity in January, while gold extended losses from Friday.

India: Benchmark stock market indices closed in red as Sensex and Nifty crashed after the Budget speech from Finance Minister. Market is expected to open on a range bound note and likely to witness sideways move during the day.

Global economy: China’s manufacturing activity expanded in January as expected, with the private RatingDog China General Manufacturing PMI rising to 50.3 from 50.1 in December, signaling modest growth and stronger optimism among smaller private firms, supported by robust overseas demand. However, this contrasted with the official government PMI, which showed a contraction at 49.3, highlighting weaker performance among larger, state-run enterprises.

The Chicago PMI showed a strong expansion in the manufacturing sector in January, with the index surging to 54.0 well above the expected ~43.5 level. This marked jump not only surpassed forecasts but also moved the PMI above the key 50 threshold, signaling robust growth in production and business activity in the Chicago region’s manufacturing industry.

Commodities: Oil prices dropped significantly as President Trump indicated Iran was engaged in serious talks with Washington, signaling a de-escalation of tensions. This news eased geopolitical risk premiums that had previously driven prices to multi-month highs. OPEC+ also agreed to maintain its current oil output levels for March.

Gold prices fell on Monday, influenced by a strengthening dollar and uncertainty surrounding U.S. President Trump's Fed chair pick, Kevin Warsh. Investors are assessing Warsh's potential approach to interest rate cuts, while silver saw a recovery. U.S. economic data indicated potential inflation pickup, impacting rate cut expectations.

Currency: The dollar clung to its gains on Monday as investors weighed what a Federal Reserve under Kevin Warsh might look like, with his preference for a smaller balance sheet.