The S&P 500 was down 0.2% and the Nasdaq lost 0.5% while the Dow Jones gained 50 points on Friday, as traders assess the situation in the Middle East and parse more corporate results. Communication services and tech were the worst performing sectors while energy and financials outperformed. Megacaps including Apple (-0.7%), Nvidia (-0.7%), Amazon (-1%) and Meta (-1.3%) were lower while Apple and Alphabet swung around the flatline. Tesla lost slightly (-0.3%), a sixth consecutive session of declines, amid new security concerns regarding its vehicles. On the earnings front, Netflix sank more than 7.8% after its Q2 revenue guidance disappointed and Procter & Gamble was down 2.3% after its quarterly sales came below forecasts. On the other hand, American Express was up 3% after an earnings and revenue beat. On the week, the S&P 500 lost about 2.2% so far, its worst week in almost six months. The Nasdaq fell 3.6% and the Dow Jones is on track to end the week 0.6% lower.

Bitcoin saw a nearly 3% increase to 65.2K on Friday as anticipation built for the upcoming halving event expected for early Saturday. This event occurs approximately every four years and reduces the reward for bitcoin miners, ultimately slowing the production of new bitcoins. Historically, the past three halving in 2020, 2016, and 2012 have led to significant price surges post-event; however, this time the market seems to have already factored in some of the anticipated impact. Bitcoin has surged by approximately 50% this year, reaching a peak of 73.8K in March, helped by the approval of the first US-listed ETF to track bitcoin by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

European natural gas futures dropped to €31.5/MWh on Friday, after rising to as high as €33.8 as investors monitored the situation in the Middle East. Iran seems to downplay the overnight attack by Israel and the risks of an immediate response. Despite this, natural gas prices remain over 2% higher this week due to increased demand in Asia, supply disruptions in the US, and pipeline problems in Norway. Imports of LNG from Asian countries are on the rise, with imports from China reaching 6.61 million tons in March. Also, ongoing supply cuts in Norway and repairs at the Freeport LNG terminal in Texas led to reduced flows, with work at the latter expected to continue through May.

Producer prices in Germany dropped by 2.9% year-on-year in March 2024, following a 4.1% fall in the previous month. It marked the ninth consecutive month of producer deflation but the smallest decline since July, driven by a fall in energy costs (-7.0%), influenced by natural gas (-15.4%), electricity (-12.6%), and mineral oil products (-1.0%). Meanwhile, prices of intermediate goods shrank by 3.7%, dragged down by metals (-6.6%) and basic chemicals (-9.0%). Conversely, prices of non-durable consumer goods rose by 0.3%, while those of durable consumer goods increased by 1.0%. Also, prices of capital goods climbed 2.8%, mainly boosted by advances in machinery prices (3.0%) and the prices of motor vehicles, trailers, and semi-trailers (2.2%). On a monthly basis, producer prices were up by 0.2% after a 0.4% decline in February, compared to forecasts of a flat reading.

Retail sales volumes in the United Kingdom were flat in March 2024, following a revised 0.1% rise in February and missing the market expectation of a 0.3% growth. Increases in sales of automotive fuel by 3.2% and non-food stores by 0.5% were offset by declines in food stores and non-store retailers, which experienced decreases of 0.7% and 1.5%, respectively. Looking at the quarter, trade increased by 1.9% in the three months to March when compared with the previous three months. On a yearly basis, retail sales rose by 0.8%, rebounding from a revised 0.3% decline the month before.

Malaysia’ economy expanded 3.9% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024, accelerating from a 3.0% growth in the previous period, preliminary estimates showed. It marked the fastest economic expansion in exactly a year, driven by positive contributions from all sectors, led by the services sector (4.4% vs 4.2% in Q4), particularly wholesale & retail trade, transportation & storage and business services sub-sectors. Additionally, output growth picked up for construction (9.8% vs 3.6%) and mining & quarrying (4.9% vs 3.8%), while production rebounded for manufacturing (1.9% vs -0.3%). In contrast, agricultural activities grew at a slower pace (1.3% vs 1.9%). On a quarterly basis, the GDP shrank 3.4% compared to a 3.1% rise in the prior period.