Thread: Daily Market Analysis from ForexMart

Trading plan for starters of EUR/USD and GBP/USD on March 16, 2022

Details of the economic calendar of March 15:
Data on the UK labor market were published, where the unemployment rate fell from 4.1% to 3.9%. At the same time, the number of applications for unemployment benefits fell by 48,000 during the February period, which is good news. The reaction of the pound sterling was quite restrained, probably, the information and news noise influences the market.

In the European Union, data on industrial production were published, the growth rate of which slowed down from 2.0% to -1.3%. The figures are bad and this is just the beginning as the data for February and March will definitely turn out to be even worse due to the current situation.

During the American trading session, the producer price index in the United States was published, where the indicator remained at the level of 10%.

March 16 economic calendar:
The key event of the day and, possibly, of the week are the results of the Fed meeting, where forecasts for the first refinancing rate increase in four years have been going on for a long time. Based on expectations, an increase of 0.25% is considered, which, with earlier forecasts, is considered the minimum possible change. Note that back in January, they predicted a rate increase of 0.5% at once, but due to recent events, the forecasts were revised.

Now the most important thing is not the rate, but the comments of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, since in the event of a change in strategy regarding the tightening of monetary policy, the U.S. dollar can significantly lose value. If the previously developed strategy of multiple rate hikes continues, the dollar will continue to strengthen.

It is worth considering that the fact of raising the rate even by 0.25% can locally play on the transactions of speculators.

Time targeting

Results of the Fed meeting - 18:00 UTC

Press conference - 18:30 UTC

Trading plan for EUR/USD on March 16:
In this situation, price stagnation plays the role of accumulation of trading forces, with a high degree of probability it will lead to new surges in the market. Traders consider the values of 1.0900 and 1.1020 as signal levels. Holding the price outside one of the levels will indicate an impulse move in the price.

Trading plan for GBP/USD on March 16:
Despite the importance of the 1.3000 level, the downward trend prevails on the market. This can lead to a breakdown of the psychological level, where the current amplitude will become a lever for traders.

As a trading recommendation, consider two market development scenarios:

The first scenario is based on the breakdown of the level of 1.3000, where the confirmation of this signal will be the holding of the price below 1.2950 in a four-hour period.

The second scenario considers a price pullback from a psychologically important level. Buy positions will be active after holding the price above the value of 1.3080 in a four-hour period. This step will only temporarily change the trajectory of the main trend.

EU stocks maintain upward movement

At the close of trading on Wednesday, the main EU stock indices advanced amid rising risk appetite. In addition, market participants were awaiting the results of the FOMC meeting. They also continued to monitor news on the Russia- Ukraine conflict.

The STOXX Europe 600 Index grew by 3% to 448.45. The biggest gainers were Dutch conglomerate Prosus NV (+23.2%), Norwegian IT company Adevinta ASA (+15.8%), and Russian mining giant Polymetal International PLC (+14%).

The FTSE 100 Index jumped by 1.62% to 7291.68, while the CAC 40 index added 3.68%, hitting 6588.64. The DAX rose by 3.76%, approaching a 2-week high of 14440.74.

The shares of E.ON, the largest German energy supplier, climbed by 3.8%. The day before, the company reported an increase in adjusted net profit by 53% in annual terms following the results of last year. The earnings result significantly exceeded market expectations.

E.ON also points out that it expects a decrease in adjusted profit in 2022. The company is unable to assess the negative consequences of the Russia-Ukraine conflict for its operation yet.

The capitalization of EQT AB, the Swedish investment company, soared by 13% after it announced the acquisition of rival private-equity firm Baring Private Equity Asia for $ 7.5 billion.

On Wednesday, risk sentiment significantly increased in global markets. The stock indices of the Asia-Pacific region closed in the black. The Hang Seng index surged by 9% amid information that the Chinese authorities will adopt new rules for supervising the listing of companies on foreign exchanges. Meanwhile, the US stock markets also reported stable growth of 1-2%.

On Thursday, investors are anticipating the publication of the results of the FOMC meeting. According to preliminary estimates, the US regulator will raise the key rate to 0.25-0.5% per annum. Such an increase will be the first since the fall of 2018.

In addition, the Bank of England's meeting is scheduled for Thursday. Analysts assume that the central bank will announce a rate hike to 0.75% from 0.5% per annum.

As widely expected, the ECB kept the interest rate at zero and the deposit rate at minus 0.5% at the meeting last week.

At the same time, the regulator adjusted the volume of asset purchases. Monthly net purchases under the APP will amount to €40 billion in April, €30 billion in May and €20 billion in June.

Apart from that, the watchdog downgraded the forecast for Eurozone GDP growth from 4.2% to 3.2% in 2022.

Analysts reckon that traders were disappointed by the lack of reaction from the ECB to the war in eastern Europe. Following the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Western states have permanently imposed sanctions against Russia. Last week, President Joe Biden banned the import of petroleum products from Russia. Large global corporations have partially or completely suspended their activities in Russia despite the prospects of s drop in their own profits.

Geopolitical tensions in eastern Europe remain in the limelight this week. The day before, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that there was hope for a compromise in negotiations with Ukraine. At the same time, Western media publish quotes from speeches of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, e.g. that talks with Russia were sounding 'more realistic'.

European stocks rose on Friday for the third trading session in a row

Investors continued to evaluate the results of the meetings of the US Federal Reserve System and the Bank of England, according to Trading Economics.

The composite index of the largest companies in Europe Stoxx Europe 600 increased by 0.9% during the day and amounted to 454.62 points. Since last Friday, it has risen by more than 5%, the highest gain since November 2020. At the same time, the indicator ended "in positive territory" for the second week in a row.

The German DAX index on Friday rose by 0.2%, the British FTSE 100 - by 0.3% (having reached a maximum in two weeks), the French CAC 40 and the Spanish IBEX 35 - by 0.1%, the Italian FTSE MIB - by 0. 4%.

Over the past week, the CAC 40 is up 5.8%, the FTSE 100 is up 3.4% (the biggest gain since November 2020), and the DAX is up about 5%.

The leading gainer among Stoxx 600 components on Friday was HelloFresh SE, a food kit delivery company, up 9.7%. Quotes of securities of other representatives of this sector also rose significantly: Ocado Group Plc - by 7.6% and Delivery Hero SE - by 7.3%.

Shares of the German developer of software for remote access to computers TeamViewer rose in price by 6.6%, another IT company Softcat Plc - by 6%.

Meanwhile, Polymetal International, Russia's largest silver producer and one of the leading gold miners, plunged 13.6%. This is the worst result among the Stoxx 600 companies.

In addition, shares of reinsurance firm Hannover Rueck SE (-4.5%), media company ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE (-4.2%), developers Entra ASA (-3.7%) and Vonovia SE (-3 .3%).

On the British market, shares of mining companies rose in price, including Anglo American (+0.8%) and BHP (+0.4%).

Ted Baker Plc jumped more than 17% after investment firm Sycamore Partners Management LP confirmed it was considering an offer to buy the clothing retailer.

Papers BATM Advanced Communications Ltd. rose by 1.4%. A telecommunications technology and systems provider for medical laboratories has entered into a strategic partnership with Taiwan's NEXCOM International Co.

Capitalization of Electricite de France SA increased by 1.7% - up to 9.47 euros. The French energy company plans to raise 3.1 billion euros through an additional issue. EDF will place 500 million new shares on the stock exchange at a price of 6.35 euros per share. The company will give its shareholders a priority right to purchase.

Trading plan for starters of EUR/USD and GBP/USD on March 22, 2022

March 22 economic calendar:
Tuesday is not much different from Monday, the macroeconomic calendar is still empty. Traders will continue to analyze the information flow for hot topics.

Trading plan for EUR/USD on March 22:
Stable retention of the price below the level of 1.1000 may well lead to a subsequent recovery of dollar positions relative to the recent correction. In case of a coincidence of expectations, the euro rate may fall to the values of 1.0900-1.0800.

An alternative scenario for the development of the market will be considered by traders if the quote returns above 1.1050. This step may well disrupt the recovery process.

Trading plan for GBP/USD on March 22:
In this situation, traders are still considering the trading tactics of breaking one or another control value relative to the price stagnation. In this regard, buy positions will be valid after holding the price above 1.3210 in a four-hour period, and sell positions would be active after holding the price below 1.3080 in a four-hour period.

ETH surpasses BTC in terms of growth rate

Ethereum soared above $3,000 on Tuesday. The coin has advanced by 3% over the last 24 hours and has added 16% over the past week. At the moment of writing, the altcoin traded at $3,009.76.

On Tuesday, the cryptocurrency updated the February high, and its market capitalization hit $361 billion.

The surge came after BTC, the world's largest digital asset, reached $43,300 and broke through the high as of March 3. As a reminder, bitcoin has traded sideways in the range between $37,000 and $42,000 for about a month.

However, after approaching the high on Tuesday, BTC started to gradually decrease. At the moment of writing, digital gold traded at $42,500. The asset has increased by 3% over the past 24 hours and has grown by 7.1% over the past seven days.

The spike in the value of ETH came amid expectations of the updates that could change the mining process of the altcoin.

Today, pressure mainly came from buyers in Europe and the United States, analysts at Glassnode said. Meanwhile, market players in the Asian region were more willing to sell the asset.

Other popular tokens showed steady growth, following a rise in BTC and ETH. Thus, Dogecoin grew 4.1% to $0.124. Uniswap and Cardano appreciated by about 5%.

The total capitalization of the crypto market came in at $2,02 trillion, according to CoinGecko, the world's largest cryptocurrency data aggregator.

Hot forecast for EUR/USD on 24/03/2022

The single European currency is losing its position again. Although the scale of yesterday's decline turned out to be quite modest. But today this process has continued. And it is sustainable. The reason lies solely in the plane of energy carriers.

First, US President Joe Biden once again stated that during his visit to Europe he would seek from the EU the imposition of an embargo on oil and gas supplies from Russia. But Europe is extremely dependent on Russian energy supplies, and it is not at all clear what to replace them with. The United States itself can export only insignificant volumes, which will not be enough to replace Russian supplies. And this is not counting the fact that fuel prices in the United States, if lower than in Europe, then quite a bit. Whereas in Russia they are five or even six times lower. So if the United States manages to bend Europe, it will inevitably face both a real shortage of energy resources and an even greater increase in fuel prices. This is akin to the destruction of the European economy as such.

Secondly, Russia decided yesterday to sell gas for rubles. The truth is only for unfriendly countries, to which the whole of Western Europe belongs. Of course, this caused a shock, since for the entire post-war history, the prices of raw materials in the world were denominated exclusively in dollars. Roughly speaking, there was a unified pricing and settlement system. This is extremely convenient, and allows you to bring prices to a certain uniform standard, which reduces the cost. If prices are formed in different currencies, it will lead to chaos. The world is used to a single pricing system. And inevitably, this will lead to an increase in raw material prices. However, there is really no talk of any paradigm shift. It's all about the reservation regarding unfriendly countries. It contains an opportunity to bypass this solution. It's just that the buyers will not be the countries of the European Union, but some others. For example, from North Africa or the Middle East. But the gas itself will still be supplied to Europe. Only at slightly higher prices.

So as a result, the cost of energy carriers for Europe will still grow, which will have an extremely negative impact on the European economy. So it is not surprising that the European currencies are losing ground. And oddly enough, Russia's decision allows the European Union to even go for an embargo, since it will still buy gas through intermediaries, and not directly. But Europe will still have to pay dearly. That is the main factor in the weakening of the single European currency.

The EURUSD currency pair completed the consolidation move in the range of 1.1010/1.1045 by breaking the lower border. This move led to speculative activity, which enabled traders to stay below the psychological 1.1000 level.

The RSI technical instrument in the four-hour period confirmed the completion of the consolidation by the rebound of the indicator from the 50 line.

The Alligator H4 indicator has left the phase of intertwining MA moving lines, indicating a downward trend. Alligator D1 still indicates a downward trend in the medium term. There are no intersections between the moving MA lines.

Expectations and prospects:

In this situation, the primary signal to sell the euro was received in the course of holding the price below the level of 1.1000. Strengthening of the existing signal will occur when the price stays below 1.0960 in a four-hour period. This move may well restart dollar positions in the direction of 1.0900-1.0800. Otherwise, we are in for a turbulence within the boundaries of 1.0960/1.1150.

A complex indicator analysis gives a sell signal in the short-term and intraday periods due to the price rebound from the resistance level. Indicators in the medium term give a sell signal due to a downward trend.

Pound sterling fluctuates as BoE revises plans due to inflation

The pound sterling has made slight gains over the week. However, GBP remains in a downtrend. Growing inflationary and geopolitical risks are putting pressure on the British currency, forcing the Bank of England to change its earlier plans.

Inflation in the UK has reached the highest point in 30 years, cancelling the plans of the British government. In February, consumer prices added 6.2%, and producer price inflation reached 10.1%. The government planned to impose the highest taxes in years next month to help economic recovery and prevent inflation from spiraling out of control.

Originally, the national insurance rate was to be increased by 1.25%, which would contribute £12 billion to state coffers. However, this plan was suspended due to difficult economic situation, UK finance minister Rishi Sunak announced on Wednesday, March 23.

Furthermore, the government reduced payroll taxes, cut the basic rate of income tax, and decreased the fuel duty. These measures are aimed at helping poorer families cope with rising prices. However, these plans are unlikely to affect the actual economic situation. According to projections by the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS), the cost of living for the poorest could rise by 10%, while their benefits will increase by just 3.1%. The Bank of England estimates that inflation could rise to 8% in April. However, its actual level exceeds these projections.

This situation is detrimental to the pound sterling in the long term. GBP is currently struggling to hold its current fragile position. Amid a protracted price increase, the British pound decreased on Thursday, March 24. GBP is fluctuating up and down, which are unbalancing the pound sterling's price dynamics. GBP/USD was moving within the 1.3214-1.3215 range early on Friday, trying to escape the downward spiral.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley recommend staying short on GBP, as markets price in too much tightening from the Bank of England this year - up to 5 interest rate increases in 2022.

Many economists are cautious with their outlooks, because the UK economy is in a difficult situation, and its currency is far from stable.

The Bank of England is conducting its current monetary policy in accordance with the challenges at hand, adjusting it depending on the current situation. The UK central bank has increased the key rate 3 times over the past 4 months. The hikes helped GBP advance against EUR, but weakened GBP/USD. Experts do not rule out another increase at the next BoE meeting on April 14.

The economic slowdown in the UK and geopolitical uncertainty demands caution in making key decisions from the Bank of England. As real disposable income falls and energy prices soar, the UK economy is expected to weaken.

Earlier outlooks suggested inflationary pressure would peak in April, with prices reaching 8%. However, stronger negative tendencies in the economy could send prices skyward throughout the year, experts predict. The Bank of England suggests further monetary tightening is appropriate amid skyrocketing real inflation in the UK.

Will the dollar lead the new monetary system?

The U.S. currency started the new week with cautious movements, with an eye on the current geopolitical situation. Tensions in the air have gripped the global financial arena. Some analysts believe that the way out of this situation is the formation of a new monetary system.

In the event of such a scenario, the dollar will be among the minor currencies. The place of the USD in the new financial order does not provide for the unconditional leadership of the latter. A similar long-term forecast for the EUR/USD pair was published by Zoltan Pozsar, an analyst at Credit Suisse. Based on a number of factors, he stated changes in the global monetary order.

In his report "Bretton Woods III", Pozsar sets out his point of view on the formation of a new system of settlements and currency relations: "We are witnessing the birth of Bretton Woods III – a new world (monetary) order centered around commodity-based currencies in the East that will likely weaken the Eurodollar system and also contribute to inflationary forces in the West."

The expert emphasized that at the moment "a crisis of commodities is unfolding... and this crisis is about the rising allure of outside money over inside money." According to Pozsar, the basis of the Bretton Woods II system was internal means of payment. However, this bulk, which was considered unshakable, "crumbled a week ago when the G7 seized Russia's FX reserves," Pozsar said.

Recall that the former global financial system, Bretton Woods, provided for the dominance of the U.S. currency. It reached its greatest prosperity from 1944 to 1976, when the dollar took the leading place in the system of international settlements and storage of global reserves. However, now the USD is losing its dominant position, experts believe.

The world is preparing to update the existing monetary order, being on the threshold of the end of the "Eurodollar era." The era of regional currencies in the East begins, which are backed by goods. Such a scenario will lead Western countries to another round of inflation, experts say.

Many experts do not agree with this point of view and still believe in the stability of the greenback. According to analysts, the end of the "dollar hegemony era" is unlikely in the next few years. To prove this, arguments are given about the predominant number of currency transactions that are made in dollars. At the same time, the lion's share of global bank reserves is in the U.S. currency. Refusal of the greenback is possible only in the event of a large-scale global crisis comparable to the Second World War. Recall that after its completion, the USD acquired the status of a world currency.

The replacement of the dollar by the yuan, which has been much talked about lately, is hardly possible in the foreseeable future. According to experts, the Chinese currency does not have such a strong base and global recognition as the U.S. dollar. Such a level of confidence in the yuan, as in the USD, has not yet been formed. At the same time, China is a cunning and cautious market player, analysts are sure. The Chinese government is able to deal harshly with their trading partners and is very reluctant to go beyond their interests, which are mainly related to the Asia-Pacific region.

The disadvantage of the Chinese currency is its small number in the global financial system. Currently, the share of the greenback in international trade settlements is approaching 50%, and in reserves, it reaches 60%. At the same time, the share of the yuan does not exceed 5%, analysts emphasize.

Currently, the U.S. currency is trying not to miss a single opportunity for growth. According to COT reports, over the past week, major market players have significantly increased their positions to buy contracts for the dollar index (USDX). As a result, the net position on it rose from the lows recorded since September 2021.

The current data on the dollar index (USDX) fixes the growth of "bullish" sentiment on the U.S. currency. On Monday, March 28, the dollar index (the rate against a basket of currencies of six countries - key U.S. trading partners) rose by 0.37% to 989.15 points. This week, economists expect an increase in U.S. GDP by 7% and a reduction in unemployment in the country to 3.7%. Optimism about the U.S. currency is also promoted by the build-up of traders' positions on the rise of the latter.

US stocks closed higher, Dow Jones up 0.27%

At the close in the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones rose 0.27% to hit a monthly high, the S&P 500 index rose 0.71%, the NASDAQ Composite index rose 1.31%.

Shares of Microsoft Corporation were the leaders of the gains among the components of the Dow Jones index in today's trading, which gained 7.02 points (2.31%) to close at 310.70. Salesforce.com Inc rose 4.25 points or 2.01% to close at 215.28. Walmart Inc rose 2.55 points or 1.78% to close at 146.00.

The losers were shares of Chevron Corp, which lost 2.96 points or 1.75% to end the session at 166.35. Dow Inc was up 0.59 points (0.91%) to close at 64.11, while JPMorgan Chase & Co was down 1.05 points (0.74%) to close at 140. .87.

Leading gainers among the S&P 500 index components in today's trading were Tesla Inc, which rose 8.03% to hit 1.00, Carnival Corporation, which gained 5.49% to close at 19.40, and Etsy Inc, which rose 4.70% to end the session at 138.54.

The biggest losers were Discovery Inc Class A, which shed 6.47% to close at 25.58. Shares of Discovery Communications C Inc shed 6.15% to end the session at 25.63. Quotes of Mosaic Co decreased in price by 4.72% to 67.97.

Leading gainers among the components of the NASDAQ Composite in today's trading were Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation, which rose 81.25% to hit 2.32, DatChat Inc, which gained 61.45% to close at 2.68, and also shares of Newegg Commerce Inc, which rose 43.41% to end the session at 7.40.

The biggest losers were Clever Leaves Holdings Inc, which shed 50.26% to close at 1.91. Neuroone Medical Technologies Corp lost 46.85% to end the session at 1.18. Quotes of Amylyx Pharmaceuticals Inc decreased in price by 35.96% to 16.01.

On the New York Stock Exchange, the number of securities that fell in price (1,715) exceeded the number of those that closed in positive territory (1,490), and quotes of 134 shares remained virtually unchanged. On the NASDAQ stock exchange, 2,051 stocks fell, 1,843 rose, and 199 remained at the previous close.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which is based on S&P 500 options trading, fell 5.67% to 19.63, hitting a new monthly low.

Gold futures for April delivery lost 1.64%, or 32.10, to hit $1.00 a troy ounce. In other commodities, WTI crude for May delivery fell 9.18%, or 10.46, to $103.44 a barrel. Brent futures for June delivery fell 9.01%, or 10.58, to $106.79 a barrel.

Meanwhile, in the forex market, the EUR/USD pair remained unchanged 0.07% to 1.10, while USD/JPY rose 1.45% to hit 123.83.

Futures on the USD index rose by 0.27% to 99.08.

Trading plan for starters of EUR/USD and GBP/USD on March 30, 2022

March 30 economic calendar
Today, the ADP report on employment in the United States is expected to be published, which is projected to grow by 450,000 in March. This is a positive signal for the labor market if the data is confirmed.

Almost simultaneously with the ADP report, the final data on the United States GDP for 2021 will be published. The data will likely be left without much attention, which will confirm the preliminary assessment.

Time targeting

ADP report - 12:15 Universal time

U.S. GDP - 12:30 Universal time

Trading plan for EUR/USD on March 30
In this situation, the local maximum at 1.1137 plays the role of resistance, which temporarily put pressure on buyers in the form of a technical pullback. In order for the upward cycle to be extended to new price levels, the quote needs to stay above 1.1180 in a four-hour period. This step will lead to further formation of a corrective move from the pivot point 1.0800. At the same time, the regular basis of the past, associated with the 1.1120/1.1180 area, may well put pressure on long positions. In this case, a slowdown in the upward cycle is possible, followed by a weakening of the euro, following the example of a price rebound on March 17th.

Trading plan for GBP/USD on March 30
In this situation, a characteristic uncertainty could arise due to the convergence of the price with the psychologically important level of 1.3000, where there was a reduction in the volume of short positions in history. The risk of a price rebound from the pivot point in the market remains, so the prolongation of the downward cycle will be considered by traders only after holding the quote below 1.3000 in a four-hour period. Until then, a variable or a local pullback is possible.

US stocks extend losses after confident rise early this week​​​​​​​

On Thursday, the main European stock indices continue to drop. However, at the beginning of the trading session, they climbed higher but later resumed the downward movement. Market participants are deeply concerned about the prospects of a slowdown in the global economy. The weakening of inflation fears amid a drawdown in oil prices limits the upward movement in European stock exchanges.

At the time of writing this article, the STOXX Europe 600 lost 0.12%, dropping to 459.63.

The shares of Swedish IT company Sinch AB (-10.7%), Polish logistics company InPost SA (-4%), as well as Telecom Italia SpA (-3.2%) incurred the biggest losses.

The largest gainers were the stocks of Russian gold mining company - Polymetal International (+8.1%) and Orpea SA (+4.8%).

On Thursday, the DAX index is down by 0.04%. The FTSE MIB shed 0.2%, the IBEX 35 decreased by 0.15%, the FTSE 100 slid down by 0.04%, and the CAC 40 dropped by 0.16%.

Despite a constant decrease in recent days, the leading European indices will end March on a positive note. The Stoxx 600 grew by 4%, while the DAX rose by 5%.

H&M shares nosedived by 8.5%. Despite the company's upbeat earnings report in the first quarter of the current financial year, the net profit was lower than analysts' forecasts.

The capitalization of UK investment company Brewin Dolphin Holdings instantly soared by more than 60% on the news that the Royal Bank of Canada agreed to buy it for $ 2.1 billion.

During Wednesday's trading session, the major EU indices closed in the red after a spectacular rise a day earlier. The day before, market participants assessed the prospects of a recovery in the global economy amid the geopolitical woes in Eastern Europe.

As a result, the STOXX Europe 600 index sank by 0.41% to 460.19.

The shares of UK advertising company S4 Capital Plc logged the steepest drop among the companies included in the index. Its stock collapsed by 36%. S4 Capital Plc announced another delay in the publication of the earnings report due to problems with the PricewaterhouseCoopers audit.

The CAC 40 index lost 0.74% on Wednesday, the DAX shed 1.45%, the FTSE MIB decreased by 0.03%, and the IBEX 35 slid down by 0.74%. Only the FTSE 100 index grew by 0.55%.

Yesterday, the stocks of companies doing business in Russia also incurred losses. French conglomerates Societe Generale and BNP Paribas sank by 2.5% and 2.3%, respectively. Renault shares fell by 4%.

The shares of Swiss financial holding UBS Group AG dropped by 1.5%. Even the announcement of the launch of a new share-buyback program of up to $6 billion the day before did not boost the company's shares. The program is scheduled to begin today. It will stay in effect for two years,

The main reason for a sharp decline in the DAX index was the outlook for Germany's economy. Earlier, analysts lowered its GDP outlook for the current year amid the escalation of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Thus, the growth of gross domestic product may total only 1.8%. In November 2021, economists predicted an increase in GDP by 4.6% in 2022.

As for macroeconomic figures for Germany, in March, the inflation rate soared to 7.3% in annual terms from 5.1% in February. According to the Federal Statistical Office, the indicator hit an all-time high.

Inflation in Spain surged to 9.8% in March from 7.6% in February, notching the highest level since 1985. At the same time, experts predicted an increase of only 8%.

According to preliminary data, in March, the consumer confidence index in Sweden plunged to 73.5 from February 89, reaching a 30-year low.

Another bearish factor for the DAX index was a dazzling rise in oil prices on Wednesday. Crude oil increased by 3%, while gas prices in Europe jumped by 9%.

The FTSE 100 was up amid a rally in the commodity market. As a result, the oil and gas industries in the eurozone expanded by 3.3% and 2.4%, respectively. The capitalization of French energy giant TotalEnergies, UK Petroleum, and Glencore rose by 2.5%, 3.1%, and 4.2%, respectively.

Geopolitical tensions, which began more than a month ago, have adversely affected stock markets worldwide. In addition, analysts are confident that the Russia-Ukraine conflict will slow down the expansion of the global economy as well as trigger a surge in inflation and shortages of raw materials in some countries.