Morning View

In the United States, the major stock indices closed lower yesterday

International

Major U.S. stock indices saw widespread declines yesterday. The S&P 500 fell by 1.7%, while the Nasdaq dropped 2.4% and the Dow Jones fell 1.0%. Thus, year-to-date, they have accumulated declines of 5.4%, 7.9%, and 4.4%, respectively. 

Yesterday, the Bank of Mexico (Banxico) announced its decision regarding the benchmark interest rate. The central bank decided to cut the rate by 25 basis points, bringing it to 6.75%, which was below analysts’ consensus expectations, as they had not forecast any cuts. Meanwhile, it is worth noting that Mexico’s February unemployment rate was released today, coming in at 2.6%, in line with expectations. In Brazil, the same metric stood at 5.8%, slightly higher than the projected 5.7%.

Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury bond yields rose across the board yesterday. The 1-year bond yield rose from 3.75% to 3.79%, while the 3-year bond yield rose from 3.88% to 3.98%. Finally, the 10-year bond yield rose from 4.32% to 4.40%.

Source: PUENTE Hnos, Bloomberg

The major U.S. stock indices rebounded yesterday, with the Nasdaq gaining 0.8%

International

The major U.S. stock indices rose during yesterday's trading session. The Nasdaq led the gains with a +0.8% rise, followed by the Dow Jones with +0.7% and the S&P 500 with +0.5%. With these performances, they have accumulated year-to-date declines of -5.6%, -3.4%, and -3.7%, respectively. 

Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury bond yields edged lower at the close of trading. The 1-year Treasury note’s yield fell from 3.76% to 3.75%, the 3-year Treasury note’s yield from 3.90% to 3.88%, and the 10-year Treasury note’s yield from 4.36% to 4.32%. It is worth noting that new unemployment insurance claims for last week totaled 210,000, exceeding the previous figure of 205,000 and in line with analysts’ consensus estimates.

In the commodities market, the price of a barrel of Brent crude fell by 1.3% and that of WTI by 1.2% at yesterday’s close, settling at USD 103.1 and USD 91.2, respectively. It is important to note at this point that the United States presented a 15-point plan to Tehran to end the war, but it was rejected according to official sources.

This afternoon, the Bank of Mexico will hold its monetary policy meeting, with the consensus among analysts being that the benchmark rate will remain unchanged at the current 7.0%.

Source: PUENTE Hnos, Bloomberg