Squawk Box Europe Express

March market misery as the Dow closes the month in the red. It posted its worst first quarter on record. The energy sector was the big underperformer, plunging nearly 35 per cent in March, while US tech giants are among the few stocks to eke out gains. The markets should brace for more dismal data, as Cleveland Fed president Loretta Mester told CNBC. In Europe, major indices lost more than 20 per cent this month. Britain's major banks are now ditching their dividends after the U.K.'s financial regulator joins its European counterparts to call on lenders to preserve cash. This comes as the death toll in the U.K. marks its biggest daily rise, while President Trump warns the virus could claim as many as 240,000 U.S. lives.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Beating expectations…Chinese factories rebound in March according to official PMI data. In energy news, oil prices have rallied from 18-year lows after Russia and the U.S. agree to hold talks as Saudi Arabia boosts production. U.S. tech stocks lead a Wall Street surge on Monday with Microsoft seeing sharp increased demand for its cloud services. And in banking news, Credit Suisse has announced it may cut bonuses this year but will still maintain its dividend, going against decisions by other European lenders to halt payouts until October.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Longer lockdown? President Trump abandons his predictions that the U.S. will be open for business by Easter and extends restrictions until 30th April. German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz says the ESM bailout fund remains the correct instrument for shoring up EU economies in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. The UK is bracing for potentially tougher quarantine measures amid reports that the lockdown could stretch out until June. And in corporate news, Unicredit becomes the first Italian bank to suspend its dividend and share buyback scheme as the ECB advises lenders to halt payouts until October.  

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The U.S. overtakes China and Italy reporting the world’s highest number of Covid-19 cases. New York is the epicentre and there are warnings the health system there is fraying. The dollar heads toward its largest decline in a decade but the Dow posts its best three-day rally in more than 90 years, after the US Senate passes the $2tn stimulus package. Federal Reserve president Jerome Powell tells NBC that the U.S. is already likely to be in recession but insists that the central bank has enough ammunition to weather the Coronavirus pandemic, as its balance sheet grows to $5tn. The G20 nations pledge to inject that same figure into the global economy in a rare united response to mitigate the fallout from the crisis. And finally, we speak to the CEO of pharma giant Novartis, who tells the programme he is seeing unprecedented collaboration between the world's biggest healthcare names. 

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Stimulus Plans. The mammoth U.S. Coronavirus stimulus bill is passed as President Trump voices hope that large parts of the economy could be ready to reopen by Easter. The Dow posts a second day of gains for the first time since last month. Reports of a total lockdown this weekend in Tokyo causes the Nikkei to fall while Singapore’s GDP growth shrinks 2.2 per cent. In Europe, nine EU nations call for the creation of ‘Coronabonds’ to offset the economic damage caused by the outbreak. In the UK, the BoE and the Treasury look set to approve more measures to support the British economy.  

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Done deal…the White House and U.S. Senate finally agree on a massive $2tn stimulus package to mitigate the medical and economic fallout of the Coronavirus outbreak. The rescue agreement – the largest in U.S. history – drives Asian stocks sharply higher, after the Dow stages a massive rebound in its best day since 1933. India launches the world’s biggest lockdown with Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordering its 1.3bn-strong population to stay indoors for 3 weeks to stem the spread of the virus. In Tokyo, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe finally succumbs to pressure and postpones the Olympic Games until next year while in the UK, thousands of retired NHS staff will return to work and a new emergency hospital will be constructed in London’s ExCeL arena in the wake of the largest daily jump in Covid-19 cases.  

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Weeks, not months… President Trump promises to re-open the U.S. economy for business soon, however Congress blocks his stimulus package bill for a second time, weighing on Wall Street. Democratic and Republican senators once again disagreed over the contents of the legislation. But Asian stocks surge as the Fed promises to buy an unlimited number of government bonds. Oil prices also rally. Prime Minister Boris Johnson locks down Britain in order to stem the spread of Coronavirus, barring gatherings and all but the most essential trips out of home while Spain reels from the outbreak as the national death toll surpasses 2,000. In corporate news, German steel giant ThyssenKrupp decides to scrap its 2020 profit outlook while Spanish lender Santander adjusts its dividend policy for the year.  

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Stocks stumble on a stimulus snag … U.S. futures drop, briefly hitting limit down, after major indices recorded their worst week since the 2008 financial crisis. Part of President Trump’s $2tn stimulus package doesn’t win approval in the Senate with Democrats criticising the bill for helping large corporates over average workers in the face of the Coronavirus outbreak. Oil prices near a 17-year low in a volatile session. In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel goes into quarantine and limits social gatherings to two people. Berlin is also set to approve a €500bn bailout fund, breaking its long-held ‘Black Zero’ debt policy. Italy has increased travel limitations to combat the spread of the virus after the death toll surged over the weekend. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has warned that the economic impact of the virus will be felt throughout the country. And in corporate news, Airbus has withdrawn its full-year guidance due to the economic volatility caused by the pandemic.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coronavirus counter-measures...Pressure on stocks ease slightly as central banks take more action. The U.S. Federal Reserve extended its swap lines to another nine central banks in a bid to mitigate the effects of the Coronavirus outbreak. President Trump also says that the government could take stakes in troubled corporates – something not seen since the automotive industry was bailed out. Italy is now the centre of the pandemic with deaths surpassing those of China for the first time. The BoE has cut rates to a historic low of 0.1 per cent to boost sterling up from 35-year lows. Prime Minister Johnson, however, has not ruled out further rescue measures to shore up British business.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Extraordinary times…ECB President Christine Lagarde launches a €750bn rescue package to counter the Coronavirus pandemic while the BOJ sets out a ¥1tn JGB purchase plan. The stimulus, however, fails to lift market sentiment with Asian stocks falling while U.S. futures fail to hold on to brief gains after the Dow falls through the 20,000-point mark. In an exclusive interview with CNBC, legendary hedge fund investor, Bill Ackman, issues a stark warning about the outbreak and urges the U.S. government to shut the country down. In energy news, oil falls 20 per cent, putting it on track for its worst week in history but WTI is back up after hitting its lowest level in 18 years. And in the UK, London braces for imminent lockdown as Prime Minister Boris Johnson closes schools and the national Coronavirus death toll tops 100.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.