Market Overview
Key Points
• Worldwide coronavirus cases surpass 436.785 million with over 5.972 million official deaths.
• New Zealand has 14,633 new active community cases of coronavirus with 344 people in hospital, 5 in intensive care.
• PM Ardern announced NZ isolation changes yesterday, with no more self-isolation required for New Zealanders and tourists who have been vaccinated.
• The Moscow Exchange is closed again today, and the Nasdaq and NYSE have temporarily halted stocks of Russian based companies
• Australian Consumer Confidence drops 2.6% from the previous week
• French President Macron has spoken to Putin requesting an immediate cease fire
• Russian Central Bank tries to stop the selling of Russian Securities
• The US State Dept has said they have indicated more sanctions on Russia if no de-escalation from Russia is forthcoming
Major Announcements last week:
- RBNZ hikes the official cash rate from 0.75% to 1.0%
- US Prelim GDP q/q prints at 7.0% ending December
- US Core Durable Goods Orders m/m 0.7% up from 0.4% expectations
- US Consumer Sentiment 62.8 vs 61.7
- Satallite imagery confirms the Russian Military is spread 17 miles long north of Kyiv