By Anne D. Picker, International Economist,Econoday
Friday, April 13, 2001

Equities got a seasonal lift from the appearance of spring and rose last week - despite facing the precipice of the dreaded earnings season. Stocks rose buoyed by climbing technology and telecommunications shares as investors did some bargain hunting after the preceding week's abysmal performance. All indexes tracked here ended the shortened trading week on the positive side except Singapore.

The European Central Bank disappointed almost everybody and left its policy setting interest rate at 4.75 percent. The ECB is the only major central bank that has not lowered interest rates as global economic growth has weakened. Growth rate forecasts for the 12 nation European Monetary Union (including those of the World Bank and OECD) have been revised down from earlier higher estimates. The ECB's primary focus is to keep inflation under its 2 percent target rate. It is currently running at 2.6 percent and recent member country price indexes have disappointed on the high side. As expected, investors expressed their disappointment by selling euros for U.S. dollars. The ECB meets again in two weeks, and markets will now shift their focus to that meeting. In his press conference after the meeting, ECB president Wim Duisenberg made it clear that the council's primary focus remains on inflation as mandated by treaty. "Wait and see" continues to be the operative motto for the ECB. Duisenberg reiterated his belief that there are no indications of a global recession.

The Bank of Japan met Thursday and Friday and left interest rates unchanged. When the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee last met on March 19, they lowered rates close to zero and increased the amount of money in the banking system. The Bank once again urged lawmakers to push through structural reform, despite the pain of doing so.

Introduction   •   Global Stock Market Indexes   •   Recap of Global Markets   •   Currencies   •  Indicator Scoreboard

The Bottom Line   •   Looking Ahead