Dr. Platon Monokroussos, Chief Market Economist, Deputy General Manager, Eurobank Ergasias S.A
HIGHLIGHTS
WORLD ECONOMIC & MARKET DEVELOPMENTS
GLOBAL MARKETS: As was expected, the FOMC dropped the “patient” guidance from its post-meeting policy statement, opening the door for a rate hike later this year. However, the tone of the accompanying statement and the updated economic projections tilted towards the dovish side of market expectations.
GREECE: In an attempt to reach a political agreement on the Greek issue, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will meet on the sidelines of the two-day EU Summit that commences today seven top EU officials namely German Chancellor Angela Merkel, France’s President Francois Hollande, ECB President Mario Draghi, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem and Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council. The said meeting will reportedly take place late today, ahead of another crucial meeting between Greece’s Premier and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Monday 23rd March.
CYPRUS: According to the results of the Passengers Survey, tourists arrivals increased by 12.1%YoY to 50, 709 individuals in February 2015. In other data, the Industrial Turnover Index fell modestly by 0.3%YoY in December 2014, bringing the annual rate of decline to 4.7% for the whole of last year.
SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE
ROMANIA: The government’s upcoming T-notes auction later on the day, where the finance ministry plans to sell 300mn of April 2020 paper, takes centre stage today domestically. The issue will bear a 5.75% coupon.
CESEE MARKETS: Most Emerging bourses closed higher on Wednesday and government bonds gained ground as hopes about further economic stimulus in China overshadowed caution prevailing ahead of the FOMC announcement, which was due after the market’s close. With the FOMC largely anticipated to lay on Wednesday the ground for the inception of its monetary easing cycle later this year, most CESEE currencies weakened for the second consecutive session yesterday.
