Sharp Declines in Stock Market

market news summary

Chinese President Xi Jinping won a third five-year term today, Friday, March 10, as China’s nearly 3,000-member parliament voted unanimously in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to elect the 69-year-old Xi to lead the country in a stale election in which he had no other competitors.

Investors await the February Nonfarm Payrolls report on Friday amid expectations of 205K payrolls vs. 517K in the previous report, with the unemployment rate at 3.4% vs. 3.4% last month.

SVB Financial Group stock recorded a free fall down to 60%, to close at its lowest level since August of 2016. These declines came after the bank cut its forecasts for 2023 and launched a stock sale to support its balance sheet due to low deposits from startups struggling for financing.

Dollar index (USDX)

The US dollar index is stable above the $104 areas, awaiting the US jobs data today to take a clearer picture of the general trend.

Resistance level	Support level
105.60	104.99
105.95	104.75
106.45	104.15

Spot Gold (XAUUSD)

Gold prices fell on Friday, March 10, as investors await the non-farm payroll data in the United States, which is expected to be released today, to assess the likely path of raising interest rates in the US Fed.

Gold in spot transactions fell 0.1% to $1828.90 an ounce, and US gold futures fell 0.1% to $1832.90 an ounce.

Pivot Point: 1,825

Resistance level	Support level
1,840	1,816
1,849	1,802
1853	1,785

Dow Jones Index (DJ30ft – US30)

US indices closed sharply lower in Thursday’s session, under heavy pressure from banking stocks, amid anticipation of the jobs report on Friday, which may spur a hike in interest rates by the Fed.

The Dow Jones fell by 1.7%, or 543 points, down for the third consecutive session and recording its lowest close in more than 4 months.

The eight major sectors in the Dow Jones index recorded a collective decline, led by the banking and industrial sectors, which declined by 4% and 3%, respectively.

Pivot Point: 32480

Resistance level	Support level
32770	31965
33280	31670
33420	30850

US Crude Oil (USOUSD)

Oil prices fell at the settlement on the 9th of March for the third session in a row, as the Federal Reserve warned this week that the bank might raise interest rates to higher levels than previously expected.

Upon settlement, Brent crude futures fell by 1.3% to $81.59 a barrel, the lowest settlement price since February 22, and US crude futures fell by 1.2%, recording $75.72 a barrel.