SLOVENIA
Banka Slovenije says banks strong but need to expect drop in profitability
Banka Slovenije, the central bank, said in its report for January that the banking system remained strong capital- and liquidity-wise but should now brace for a fast drop in profitability. (STA)
Nine EU leaders, including Janša, urge joint borrowing in Europe
Nine EU leaders, including Slovenia's Prime Minister Janez Janša, have called for eurozone countries to jointly issue debt in order to fight the devastating impact of coronavirus on the European economies. The leaders presented their idea in a four-page letter addressed to President of the European Council Charles Michel. (STA)
INTERNATIONAL MARKETS
Dow rallies more than 1,300 points, capping its biggest 3-day surge since 1931; European stocks close higher; Tehnogas jumps huge 16.5% to lead BELEX15 1.2% higher
Stocks surged for a third straight day Thursday as investors shrugged off the release of record-breaking initial jobless claims while the Senate passed a massive economic stimulus bill amid the coronavirus outbreak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1,351.62 points, or 6.4%, to close at 22,552.17. The Dow capped off its biggest three-day surge since 1931. Over the past three days, the Dow is up more than 20%. The S&P 500 also posted a three-day winning streak, rising 6.2% to 2,630.07. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 5.6% to 7,797.54 as Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google-parent Alphabet all jumped more than 4%.
The Labor Department reported that jobless benefit claims had soared to 3.28 million last week, by far a record. That number blew past the Great Recession peak of 665,000 and the all-time mark of 695,000 in October 1982. However, the number was still better than the most dire estimates on Wall Street. Citi, for example, expected a spike to 4 million.
European markets closed higher Thursday after U.S. jobless claims ballooned to a record high amid the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed up 1.8%, reversing earlier losses, with travel and leisure stocks climbing almost 6% and autos slipping marginally into negative territory.
BELEX15 added 1.2%, while trade volume was very miserable at only EUR 71k. Bonds were treaded well with EUR 18.2m in volume. The index was basically led by huge +16.5% reversal at Tehnogas, while 5.2% gain at Energoprojekt also contributed. NIS was the most trade name with RSD 6.6m in volume, while its stock price was down 0.52%. From the macro side, we had a report from SORS which said an average net salary in Serbia in January 2020 was at EUR 511.
Source: CNBC, Ilirika
