Global markets are mixed

The Russia-Ukraine war continues to be decisive on pricing on a global basis.

While attending the NATO, G7 and EU Leaders' Summit held in Brussels yesterday, US President Joe Biden stated that they support the removal of Russia from the G20 countries.

Noting that they will respond if Russia uses chemical weapons in Ukraine, Biden said that this response will depend on the way chemical weapons are used.

Drawing attention to the news flow that an agreement has been reached between the US and European Union officials on liquefied natural gas (LNG), analysts reported that the US is expected to send 15 billion cubic meters more LNG to the European Union this year.

On the other hand, US Federal Reserve (Fed) officials continue to support the 50 basis point rate hike in their verbal guidance.

Making a statement yesterday, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said that he is more comfortable in raising interest rates by 25 basis points, but that he can support increases by 50 basis points if necessary.

With these developments, the probability that the Fed will raise interest rates by 50 basis points in May in the bond markets has increased to 71 percent.

The fact that the macroeconomic data announced yesterday in the USA met the expectations and that the number of those who applied for unemployment benefits for the first time decreased to 187,000 in the week ending March 19, the lowest level since September 6, 1969, fed the risk appetite.

Yesterday, the S&P 500 index gained 1.43 percent, the Nasdaq index gained 1.93 percent and the Dow Jones index gained 1.02 percent in the New York stock market. Index futures contracts in the USA are moving in an upward trend in the new day.

While the Russia-Ukraine war in Europe continued to have an impact on the regional economy, stock markets were mixed in the intense diplomacy agenda yesterday.

The euro/dollar parity, which lost 0.1 percent yesterday, started the new day with a rise, and is currently trading at 1.1030, 0.3 percent above the previous close.

Yesterday, the FTSE 100 index gained 0.09 percent in the UK and the FTSE MIB 30 index gained 0.42 percent in Italy, while the DAX 30 index in Germany decreased by 0.07 percent and the CAC 40 index in France by 0.39 percent. . European indices are mixed in futures today.

Risk appetite remains low in Asian stock markets, with the concerns that China may not comply with the sanctions imposed for Russia and the news that some global companies may exit Hong Kong.

Analysts said that while the US constantly warns China not to help Russia, rumors that China is buying discounted oil from Russia have increased the selling pressure in Chinese stock markets, fearing that tensions between the two countries may increase.

Noting that the still-ending restrictions in the fight against the new type of coronavirus (Kovid-19) in Hong Kong have begun to direct global companies to other cities, analysts reported that rumors that some companies are preparing to move within a year have intensified.

Tokyo Consumer Price Index (CPI) surpassed expectations with an annual increase of 1.3 percent, according to data released in Japan today.

While the Nikkei 225 index increased by 0.1 percent in Japan near the closing, the Shanghai composite index in China decreased by 0.86 percent and the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong decreased by 2.3 percent. Kospi index in South Korea is flat.

After seeing its highest level since December 2015 with 122.4, the dollar/yen parity started to decline and finds buyers at 121.6 with a decrease of 0.6 percent compared to the previous close.

Domestically, the BIST 100 index, which followed a sales-weighted course yesterday, closed the day with a decrease of 0.32 percent at 2,176.20 points. The dollar/TL, which closed at 14,8233 with a depreciation of 0.1 percent yesterday, finds buyers at 14,8190 at the opening of the interbank market today.

Analysts stated that the news flow about the Russia-Ukraine war remained at the center of the agenda and stated that the movements in commodity prices should also be closely monitored.

Analysts stated that today, the real sector confidence index and capacity utilization rate in the country, retail sales abroad in England, Ifo business environment confidence index in Germany and Michigan University consumer confidence index in the USA will be followed, and pending housing sales will be followed from a technical point of view. He noted that the levels of 2.150 and 2.130 in the BIST 100 index are in the support position and 2.195 points are in the resistance position.