Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Friday, March 31:
1. South African rand pummeled as finance minister fired
The rand sank as much as 2.6% against the dollar on Friday, before paring losses, as South African President Jacob Zuma announced a cabinet shuffle, firing Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and replacing him with Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba along with various other ministers and their deputies.
Speculation of the move this week has sent the South African currency reeling with the rand on track for a weekly loss of close to 7%.
Political uncertainty is a hot topic for markets as concern over U.S. President Donald Trump’s ability to move forward with tax reforms, infrastructure spending and deregulation was put into question by his failure last week to repeal and replace the country’s healthcare system.
Europe is also in the spotlight as the U.K. officially began the process to exit the European Union last Wednesday and investors looked ahead to key elections in France and Germany later this year.
2. U.S. stocks set to open lower ahead of data dump
U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open on Friday in the first quarter’s last day of trade as investors prepared for a barrage of economic reports.
Personal income and spending, which includes the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) inflation data, the Fed's preferred metric for inflation, will kick off the data dump stateside at 8:30AM ET (12:30GMT) on Friday.
At 9:45AM ET (13:45GMT), market players will receive a reading of manufacturing activity in March from the Chicago Fed, while the University of Michigan will release its revised reading on consumer sentiment for the same month at 10:00AM ET (14:00GMT).
In what has a been a busy week for remarks from Federal Reserve (Fed) officials, Minneapolis Fed president Neel Kashkari and St. Louis Fed chief James Bullard are scheduled to make public appearances later on Friday.
3. Oil set to end quarter with losses of 7%
Oil prices continued their decline on Friday in the final day of trade for the first quarter. Over the first three months of the year, oil has lost around 7% on concerns about the OPEC production cut and a persistent global oversupply.
Market players looked ahead to weekly data from Baker Hughes on U.S. drilling activity out later on Friday.
Data from the oilfield services provider last week revealed that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil rose by 21 in the prior week, the tenth weekly increase in a row. That brought the total count to 652, the most since September 2015.
U.S. crude oil futures fell 0.28% to $50.21 at 6:03AM ET (10:03GMT), while Brent oil traded down 0.34% to $52.95.
4. Chinese factory activity grows at fastest pace in nearly 5 years
Activity in China's manufacturing sector unexpectedly expanded at the fastest pace in nearly 5 years in March, adding to evidence that the world's second-largest economy has gained momentum early this year as construction booms.
China's official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 51.8 in March from the previous month's 51.6, data showed on Friday.
That was the strongest reading since April 2012 and well above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis. Economists had expected 51.6.
5. Euro zone inflation slumps, settling back below ECB target
Annual inflation in the euro zone tumbled to 1.5% in March, from the prior month’s reading of 2.0%, missing expectations for a reading of 1.8% and falling back below the European Central Bank’s (ECB) target of close to, but below, 2%.
Core consumer price inflation (CPI) also dropped to 0.7%, missing expectations for a smaller easing to 0.8% from February’s reading of 0.9%.
The reduction in inflationary pressures in the single currency area should ease the pressure on the ECB to move forward with the removal of accommodative monetary policy.
Amid a slew of data released during European morning trade, Germany’s unemployment rate dropped to a post-reunification record low of 5.8%, beating expectations for it remain stable at 5.9%.
In the U.K., the British economy was confirmed to have grown 0.7% in the fourth quarter in the third GDP estimate for the October to December period, while house prices in Britain in March, their first monthly decline since June 2015.