| On The Fly: Midday Wrap | Stocks on Wall Street were higher at midday in the last trading day of the first quarter of the year. The disappointing Chicago purchasing managers' report was offset by dovish comments from Fed Chief Yellen, who said the the central bank’s "extraordinary" aid will last for "some time.” ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the Chicago PMI business barometer index came in at 55.9, versus the consensus forecast for a 59.0 reading. In Europe, the annual inflation rate across the 18-country eurozone fell for the third consecutive month, slipping to 0.5% in March, compared to analysts' consensus forecast for a milder drop to 0.6%. COMPANY NEWS: Shares of AT&T (T) advanced early in the session after the company's board of directors authorized the repurchase of up to 300M shares, or about 6% of its common shares outstanding. The company also noted it has 125M shares left under its buyback authorization that was issued in March of last year, but the stock had given up much of its early advance to be up fractionally near noon. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the notable gainers was Canada's Nordion (NDZ), which jumped 11% after the company agreed to be acquired by Sterigenics for $11.75 per share in cash shortly after Canada's government lifted its 25% limit on foreign investment in the company.
| | : | Asian markets will weigh China's March PMI | | Asian markets will weigh China's March PMI, but also policy announcements from the RBA and the RBI. And one eye will be on developments in the Korean peninsula after North Korea fired artillery near a disputed maritime border prompting South Korea to return fire. Our projection is for China's manufacturing PMI to slip to 49.9 in March from 50.2 in February, adding to evidence of slowdown in activity. The final HSBC/Marking PMI is also on tap after the flash reading revealed slowdown to 48.1 from a final 48.5 in February, the lowest level in eight months. The RBA is expected to leave the cash rate unchanged at 2.50%, but also remain on hold for an extended period. And the RBI is expected to move to the sidelines after having hiked the repo rate 25 bps to 8.00% in January to combat elevated inflation, but with pressure building on the central bank to help boost growth. |
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