Top 5 Things to Know in The Market on Monday
Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Monday, March 25:
1. U.S. Treasury Yield Curve Turns Positive
After inverting on Friday for the first time in more than a decade, the spread between the yield on the 3-month Treasury bill and the 10-year note turned positive.
The inverted yield curve is widely considered to be a leading indicator of recession, especially when it stays for an extended period of time.
At around 5:50 AM ET (10:50 GMT), the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note inched higher to around 2.46%, after going as low as 2.42% on Friday.
Meanwhile, the yield on the 3-month Treasury bond dipped to 2.45%.
Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans said earlier it was understandable for markets to be nervous when the yield curve flattened, though he was still confident about the U.S. economic outlook.
2. Wall Street Set for Lower Open
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open to start the week, as growing fears of a U.S. recession dampened appetite for riskier assets.
The blue-chip Dow futures were down 47 points, or about 0.2%, the S&P 500 futures shed 6 points, or around 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a decline of 34 points, or roughly 0.5%.
Elsewhere, European stocks edged lower in mid-morning trade, with most sectors and major bourses across the region in negative territory, as investors kept tabs on Brexit developments.
Earlier, markets in Asia tumbled, with Japan's Nikkei dropping 3%. Shares in mainland China also fell sharply, with the Shanghai Composite down 2%.
3. Mueller Report Clears Trump of Conspiring with Russia
Special Counsel Robert Mueller found no evidence of collusion between President Donald Trump's campaign team and Russia, and did not present enough evidence to warrant charging Trump with obstruction of justice, U.S. Attorney General William Barr said on Sunday.
Trump quickly hailed the announcement as "complete and total exoneration" after nearly two years of investigation by Mueller and his team.
His opponents in Congress called for the full report to be released, rather than just Barr's summary of it.
4. German Ifo Rebounds
German business morale improved unexpectedly in March after six consecutive drops, a survey showed, suggesting that Europe's largest economy is likely to pick up in the coming months after it narrowly avoided a recession last year.
The Munich-based Ifo economic institute said its business climate index, based on a monthly survey of companies, edged forward to 99.6 this month from 98.5. February’s reading had been the lowest level since November 2014. The reading beat economists’ expectations for 98.7.
The improvement was due overwhelmingly to responses from the domestic-focused retail and construction sectors. The manufacturing sector, which is more exposed to trends in global demand, stayed gloomy.
5. Apple's 'Show Time' Event
Apple is widely expected to announce a streaming-video service and a news subscription at a launch event later Monday.
"It's show time" is how the iPhone maker billed the affair slated for the Steve Jobs Theater at its Cupertino, California, headquarters at 1:00PM ET (17:00 GMT).
According to reports, Apple will offer subscriptions to channels such as HBO, Showtime and Starz for $9.99 a month each.
Reports have also indicated that the company plans to sell an updated Apple News offering, which would aggregate news and magazine subscriptions into one product, for $9.99 a month.
Bolstering services revenue is a big part of Apple's strategy for future growth, given that revenue from sales of its iPhones is plateauing.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares, which closed down about 2% on Friday at $191.05, were little changed in pre-market trade.
-- Reuters contributed to this report
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