U.S. stocks ended higher on Tuesday

Good Morning,

- US Bond yields and the dollar fell after FED’s Yellen testimony to the Senate…

- Asian stocks rose on Wednesday, taking their cues from Wall Street's gains after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen suggested the Fed would not rush into raising interest rates. Shares extended gains after an index of Chinese factory activity eked out a rise to a four-month high in February, though export orders shrank at their fastest rate in 20 months.

- U.S. stocks ended higher on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones and the S&P hitting new records.

- Yellen told the Senate Banking Committee that the U.S. central bank was preparing to consider interest rate hikes "on a meeting-by-meeting basis." That was a subtle change of emphasis in how the Fed has been speaking about its plans, as it suggests a hike could still come as early as June but a later date for a rate increase is possible against the backdrop of weak U.S. inflation and a sluggish global economy.

- Euro find some support yesterday from news that euro zone partners had approved Greece's reform plan, a requirement for the cash-strapped nation to receive a four-month extension to its bailout.

- The Swiss UBS consumption indicator fell to 1.24 points in January from 1.42 due to a lower number of new car registrations. The improved mood of retailers and consumers prior to abandonment of the exchange rate floor prevented a sharper drop.

- BNP Paribas on USD: The USD has weakened moderately in response to the release to Fed Chair Yellen’s semi-annual testimony, mirroring a pullback in US front-end yields, notes BNP Paribas. "Chair Yellen declined to provide much insight into when the word might be dropped and instead emphasized that dropping patient would not necessarily mean that rate hikes were imminent, just that they would be evaluated on a meeting-to-meeting basis," BNPP adds. "Notwithstanding the initial reaction to the testimony, we think the message from the Fed is broadly supportive for the USD. The central bank is clearly laying the groundwork for rate hikes to begin this year, as long as the Committee is reasonably confident that inflation will move back above 2% over the medium term," BNPP projects. BNPP maintains long USD exposure post Fed Yellen's testimony.

- China is preparing measures to counter a housing market slump and will roll them out if the economy needs support, people with knowledge of the matter said. The government could reduce down-payment requirements for second-home purchases, the people said, declining to be identified as the information isn’t public. Another possible step would be to let homeowners sell properties without paying sales tax after two years, down from five years. China’s new-home prices posted a record year-on-year decline in January, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analysis of government data tracking 70 cities.

- China’s flash HSBC/Markit Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) inched up to 50.1. It beat consensus estimates for a reading of 49.5 even as China's manufacturers still faced considerable risks from weak foreign demand and deepening deflationary pressures.

- Ukraine's central bank stepped up controls on banks' access to foreign currency on Wednesday to try to stem the collapse of the hryvnia, preventing them from buying any for clients this week and limiting what they could buy for themselves.

- Crude oil overcame pressure from expectations that this week's reports will show U.S. crude inventories rose again, garnering support from news of a shutdown of Libyan oilfields. U.S. crude trade slightly down to $49 level.

- Watch today: French consumer confidence, US mortgages, US homes.

Have a nice Day !