Tesla Cuts Prices of Model S and Model X in USA
Prices of Tesla’s Model S and Model X electric vehicles have been slashed just days after the company’s chief executive, Elon Musk, highlighted that recent price cuts have spiked demand.
The Model S now costs $89,990 in the US, down from $94,990 while its high-end variant would now cost $109,990 from $114,990 before. The Model X price was cut by $10,000 to $99,990. Elon Musk has repeatedly re-iterated the company’s intentions to bring prices down to drive demand.
MACROECONOMIC DATA ANALYSIS
Consumer prices in South Korea have grown at their slowest rate in 10 months during February, which re-enforces expectations that the Asian nation’s central bank will not tighten its monetary policy any further with more rate hikes. South Korea’s CPI jumped 4.8% in February from a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea, down from January’s 5.2% figure.
Zhao Chenxin, a deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), has highlighted China’s confidence in achieving its set growth targets of 2023 and consumption has picked up its pace. The growth target is quite ambitious given recent COVID-19 conundrums which subdued the nation.
CURRENCIES
The US dollar remained somewhat steady on Monday’s early hours as investors and traders are eagerly awaiting remarks from the US Federal Reserve regarding further interest rate hikes. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against other major currencies, inched 0.07% lower to 104.418.
GOLD
Gold prices held ground on Monday morning while copper sinks amid China’s undermining growth expectations, despite a somewhat steady dollar greenback which typically weighs down on the bullion. Gold futures bumped 0.30% higher to $1,860 per ounce.
OIL
Oil prices diminished on Monday’s early trading session after China has set an underwhelming GDP growth target for 2023, while investors are also cautiously awaiting the Fed’s upcoming remarks with regards to inflation and monetary policy tightening. Brent futures dropped 0.70% to $85.23 a barrel, alongside WTI futures decreasing by 0.70% as well to $79.12 per barrel.
INDICES
USA: S&P500 +1.61%, Dow Jones Industrial Average +1.17%, Nasdaq Composite +2.04%
Europe: FTSE 100 +0.04%, DAX +1.64%, CAC 40 +0.88%
Asia: Nikkei 225 +1.16%, Hang Seng +0.51%, CSI 300 -0.46%, Nifty 50 +1.01%
Newest
Moderna president Stephen Hoge said in an interview on Monday that the company expects to price its COVID-19 vaccine in the United States at around $130 per dose in the future as government purchases shift to the private sector.
Hoge stated this in advance of a Congressional hearing on Moderna's pricing strategies chaired by Democratic U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders. "There are different customers negotiating different prices right now, which is why it's a little bit complicated," he added.
Market confidence increased on Monday as a result of government efforts to prevent a global banking crisis. Investors welcomed the historic Swiss-backed purchase of troubled Credit Suisse by UBS Group as well as the emergency dollar liquidity provided by leading central banks.
UBS will pay 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.23 billion) for the 167-year-old Credit Suisse Group AG and take on up to $5.4 billion in losses as part of a deal arranged by Swiss regulators on Sunday.