【TOP1 Morning】Dollar surpasses two-week high, Oil prices drop 6%, Gold slips
COVID-19 surge forces European countries to reintroduce restrictions; Powell and Yellen agree valuations in the market may be high, but aren't worried about stability; Dow closes 300 points lower.

Yesterday Market Review
Gold
Gold prices slipped on Tuesday as the dollar's rally to a two-week peak offset a dip in U.S Treasury yields.
The spot gold closed at $1726.38 per ounce; the volatility within the day is $1724.54-$1742.46.
The silver closed at $25.029 the volatility within the day is $24.994-$25.811.
Federal Reserve' Chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen made their first joint appearance Tuesday before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services. The duo acknowledged the richly valued asset prices in the markets, but said that they are not worried about financial stability.
"We see a tenuous gold market on the premise that depending on the given day we see forces pushing or pulling in either direction," said David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures, adding a gaining dollar, amid hopes of an economic recovery, was keeping bullion pressured.
The dollar touched its highest since March 9, while U.S. benchmark Treasury yields dipped. A stronger greenback raises the cost of holding bullion for other currency holders.
Federal Reserve's signaling of low-interest rates and the likelihood for further fiscal stimulus were capping the metal's losses and gold could draw further support from a potential resurgence in COVID-19 cases and waning economic optimism that would hurt yields, Meger added.
"Right now they (the Fed) would rather err on the side of letting inflation overheat before they do anything," said Frank J. Cholly, senior market strategist at RJO Futures. "They don't want to slam the breaks on an economy that's really beginning to take off" and that should support gold prices, he dded.
Forex
The dollar index rose against a basket of most major currencies on Tuesday, surpassing a two-week high, while yields on U.S. Treasuries slipped as U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told Congress inflation will not get out of hand.
The U.S. dollar index closed at 92.36; the volatility within the day is 91.77-92.40.
The dollar index has gained around 2.4% so far in 2021 as investors see the relatively quick rollout of COVID-19 vaccines and stimulus spending in the United States as boosting economic growth.
But there was a wary tone in global markets, with most U.S. stocks tumbling on Tuesday.
Contributing to market caution was a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe. Germany is extending its lockdown and urging citizens to stay at home over the Easter holidays.
Euro-dollar was down 0.71% at $1.1847.
The New Zealand dollar fell on new measures to cool the housing market, dropping to a three-month low against the U.S. dollar.
It was down about 2.27% on the day at 0.70.
The drop was triggered by the New Zealand government introducing measures to curb speculation on its red-hot housing market, where house prices have risen 23% in 12 months. The Australian dollar - considered a liquid proxy for risk - also took a hit and was down 1.54% at 0.763 versus the U.S. dollar.
Oil
Oil prices fell more than 6% on Tuesday, hit by concerns over new pandemic curbs and slow vaccine rollouts in Europe as well as a stronger dollar.
West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $57.358, the volatility within the day is $57.230-$61.318. International benchmark Brent crude closed at $60.404, the volatility within the day is $60.296-$64.238.
Extended lockdowns are being driven by the threat of a third wave of infections, with a new variant of the coronavirus on the continent.
Germany, Europe's biggest oil consumer, is extending its lockdown until April 18 and asked citizens to stay home to try to stop a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nearly a third of France entered a month-long lockdown on Saturday following a jump in COVID-19 cases in Paris and parts of northern France.
A stronger U.S. dollar also weighed on prices. As oil in priced in U.S. dollars, a stronger greenback makes oil more expensive for holders of other currencies.
Physical crude markets are indicating that demand is lower, much more so than the futures market.
"Physical prices have been weaker than futures have been suggesting for several weeks now," said Lachlan Shaw, head of commodity research and National Australia Bank.
Stocks
U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday in an afternoon slide led by shares of companies with the most to lose if there are any hiccups in the global economic reopening from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The S&P 500 declined 0.8% to 3,910.52, pressured by industrials and materials. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 308.05 points, or 0.9%, to 32,423.15 as Caterpillar slipped 3.4%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slid 1.1% to 13,227.70.
Travel and retail stocks sold off in lockstep amid fresh Covid restrictions globally. Shares of Carnival and Norwegian cruise lines slumped more than 7% each. American Airlines and United Airlines also dropped more than 6% apiece. Brick-and-mortar retailer Gap slid nearly 8%.
GameStop dropped 11.9% after the company posted disappointing results for its fourth quarter. GameStop logged earnings per share of $1.34 on revenue of $2.12 billion. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv predicted earnings per share of $1.35 on revenue of $2.21 billion. The company added it is considering selling stock to fund its transformation.
Intel rose 4.1% after the company announced it is spending $20 billion to build two major chip plants in Arizona. Intel also said it will act as a manufacturing partner for chip companies that focus on semiconductor design but can't make the chips themselves.
Adobe slipped by less than 1% even after the release of fiscal first-quarter results that topped Wall Street expectations. Adobe posted earnings per share of $3.14 on revenue of $3.91 billion. Analysts polled by Refinitiv expected a profit of $2.78 per share on revenue of $3.76 billion.
Federal Reserve' Chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen made their first joint appearance Tuesday before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services. The duo acknowledged the richly valued asset prices in the markets, but said that they are not worried about financial stability.
Focus Today
15:00(GMT+8): United Kingdom Core Inflation Rate YoY (FEB), Forecast: 1.4%, Previous: 1.4%;
21:45(GMT+8): United States Markit Manufacturing PMI Flash (MAR), Forecast: 59.3, Previous: 58.6;
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