Jobless Claims, 30Y Bond Sale, ECB, Coupang IPO – What’s up in Markets By Investing.com

By Geoffrey Smith 

Investing.com — The Treasury completes its mammoth bond sale this week with an auction of 30-year bonds, against a market backdrop much improved by tepid inflation numbers. Jobless claims are due at 8:30 AM ET. The European Central Bank holds its regular policy meeting and press conference, and Coupang follows Roblox to market as the IPO bandwagon rolls on. OPEC’s monthly report on the oil market is also out later. Here’s what you need to know in financial markets on Thursday, March 11th.

1. Treasury to complete mammoth bond sale after jobless claims

The final leg of the U.S. Treasury’s mammoth bond sale takes place at 1 PM ET, against a much easier backdrop than had been feared at the start of the week. The Treasury will auction 30-year bonds at a level more than 10 basis points below where the market was trading at the start of the week.

That’s been made possible by Wednesday’s tame inflation data for February, which reassured many that the feared withdrawal of monetary stimulus isn’t an issue for the time being.

The only major test of bond market sentiment Thursday should be the weekly jobless claims data, where a fall of 20,000 in initial claims is expected, to 725,000.

2. Lagarde to walk tightrope at ECB press conference

The European Central Bank holds its regular policy meeting at a time when a cheapening euro and steadying bond markets have removed any pressure it might have felt to act.

As such, the market’s focus is likely to be on President Christine Lagarde’s press conference, and on whether journalists can pin her down on what it would take for the ECB to change the pace of its bond purchases.

Data released on Tuesday showed that the ECB actually did intensify its purchases of bonds two weeks ago to stem the sharp rise in yields. However, that was masked by the high volume of redemptions under a bond-buying program from a decade ago.

There will also likely be questions as to whether the upward turn in Covid-19 infections in some Eurozone countries represents a new risk to an economy that is already set to lag the U.S. and U.K. this year due to sluggish progress in vaccinations.

3. Stocks set to extend gains at open

U.S. stock markets are set to open higher later, supported by the final passage of the $1.9 trillion stimulus package through the House of Representatives on Wednesday, and the prospect of a bunch of stimulus checks being thrown into the markets. Some banks have estimated that as much as $170 billion of the stimulus money could find its way into financial markets one way or the other.

By 6:30 AM ET (1130 GMT), the Nasdaq 100 Futures Contract was leading the way with a gain of 1.7%, while the S&P 500 contract was up 0.7% and the Dow Jones Futures contract was adding 0.2% to its record close on Wednesday.

Stocks likely to be in focus later include American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL), in the wake of the biggest debt sale ever by an airline company, and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), which has reportedly raised prices for a couple of its models, and which had the best-selling electric car in China in the shape of its Model Y, according to data out overnight. GameStop (NYSE:GME) is also extending its latest wild ride.

4. Coupang to follow Roblox as IPO bandwagon rolls on

South Korean e-commerce company Coupang is due to start trading after raising $4.55 billion through its IPO, selling 130 million shares at a price of $35.

The IPO, which was around 25% larger than expectations at the start of the week, values the company at some $60 billion.

Gaming platform Roblox (NYSE:RBLX), which rose over 54% on its debut on Wednesday despite weakening into the close, was quoted up 12% in premarket, according to various reports.

5. Oil shrugs off Russian warning; OPEC report due

Crude oil prices were up in line with other risk assets, pulled higher by the renewed optimism in the U.S. and Chinese stock markets (the latter also lifted base metals prices overnight).

The market shrugged off comments by Russia’s oil minister hinting at a bigger increase in supply from OPEC and its allies in order to head off the loss of market share to other producers (notably the U.S.).

OPEC is due to publish its monthly report on the global oil market later, which will add more context to the swings in U.S. inventories recorded over the last two weeks. U.S. crude futures were up 0.9% at $65.23 a barrel, while Brent crude was up 1.2% at $68.69 a barrel