Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS), a troubled Swiss lender, announced early on Thursday that it would exercise an option to borrow up to 50 billion Swiss francs ($53.68 billion) under two loan facilities from the Swiss National Bank to improve liquidity conditions.

As part of its efforts to "preemptively strengthen liquidity," the bank stated that the option will also include a covered loan facility and a short-term liquidity facility.

MACROECONOMIC DATA ANALYSIS

Sweden has been warned for years that its dysfunctional housing market, which is hampered by a lack of supply and is kept high by low rates and generous tax benefits, poses a risk to the overall health of the economy. These dangers are now a reality. As interest rates rise, households with large mortgages are cutting back on their spending, and home builders are stopping their investments, sending Sweden into a recession.

Today's meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB) will be the first significant test of how well policymakers have responded to global concerns about bank stability. Following Credit Suisse's late-night announcement of plans to borrow as much as 50 billion francs ($54 billion) from the Swiss National Bank, a rout in bank shares was stopped in Asia. This was described by the lender as "decisive action to strengthen its liquidity in advance".

CURRENCIES

The safe haven US dollar and Japanese yen were bolstered on Thursday morning by renewed fears of a global banking crisis, following the implosion of Silicon Valley Bank in the United States, which spread across the Atlantic to Swiss bank Credit Suisse. The US dollar index, which compares the greenback to a basket of six major currencies, fell by 0.09% to 104.188.

GOLD

The price of gold dropped from its six-week high in Thursday’s early hours as investors took profits, but the yellow metal's appeal as a safe haven was maintained by concerns about a developing banking crisis and monetary policy uncertainty. Gold futures fell by 0.57% to $1,920 per ounce.

OIL

Oil prices recovered some ground in Thursday’s early trading session after hitting 15-month lows the previous session as markets stabilized following Swiss regulators' decision to provide Credit Suisse with a financial lifeline. But market sentiment remained fragile due to worries about a worsening financial crisis for banks around the world, with both benchmarks giving up some early Thursday gains that saw Brent rise by more than $1. Brent crude futures increased by 0.76% to $74.25 a barrel, while the West Texas Intermediate rose by 0.70% to $68.09 a barrel.

INDICES

USA: S&P500 -0.70%, Dow Jones Industrial Average -0.87%, Nasdaq Composite +0.42%

Europe: FTSE 100 -3.83%, DAX -3.27%, CAC 40 -3.58%

Asia: Nikkei 225 -0.80%, Hang Seng -1.74%, CSI 300 -0.87%, Nifty 50 -0.12%