End OF Day Report March 8th

HIGHLIGHTS

-	US President Biden's budget plan would fund federal-state partnership to ensure access to preschool 
        for all 4mln four-year-old children in the US, while the plan calls for USD 22.1bln for early care 
        and education and USD 13.1bln for Headstart program
-	Powell said the Fed remains data-dependent, no decisions made
-	Powell flagged the JOLTS survey, the NFP report Friday, and next week's CPI/PPI as key data the Fed 
        would be considering in its policy decision ahead of the March 22nd FOMC.
-	Fed Chair Powell says China's faster reopneing could put upward pressure on commodities but also 
        quicker healing of supply chains; expect impact to be moderate overall

SUMMARY

Equities up, Treasuries mixed, Crude down, Dollar flat. Powell said the Fed remains data-dependent, no decisions made; BoC holds rates steady, as expected. Major stock indices were subdued on Wednesday with Powell reaffirming his hawkish view from Tuesday again in Congress, although stocks did see a bounce into the close to see SPX settle in the black. February ADP came in on the firmer side of expectations 242k (exp. 200k), but not enough to extend on recent hawkish fed pricing, instead, a wave of short-covering in stocks and Treasuries was seen after the data. However, the smaller decline than expected in January JOLTS job openings capped the upside later in the NY morning, marking further evidence of little progress in a loosening labour market.
Participants are now setting up for Thursday's 30yr bond auction. Friday's February NFP remains the highlight of the remaining week, although ahead of then on Thursday we get Chinese inflation data, US jobless claims, and Fed's Barr (v) speaking on crypto.