Market Commentary: Friday 21st March

Heathrow Airport is shut down all day after a fire broke out in a power substation overnight. This is the main domestic headline, and looking at the poor state of the stock markets, there is little "Friday cheer."

Data-wise, the main events overnight were the UK GfK Consumer Confidence, which ticked up to -19 in March (expected to remain at -20), and Japanese CPI, which was higher—slowing less than expected to +3.7% y/y in February (expected to rise +3.5% y/y).

Elsewhere, geopolitics might take center stage as Ukraine struck Russia’s Engels airbase, and suddenly the ceasefire seems a distant memory.

Market-wise, Bitcoin fell 0.4% to $84,204.98, Ether fell 0.2% to $1,975.27, the yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 4.25%, West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.2% to $68.22 a barrel, and spot gold fell 0.4% to $3,032.32 an ounce.

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