DAILY MARKET REPORT

‏31.03.2015

INTERNATIONAL MARKETS

Index Last Change DJIA 17,976.31 263.65 S&P 500 2,086.24 25.22 NASDAQ 4947.441 56.22 NIKKEI 19,206.99 204.41 HANG SENG 24,922.58 67.46 DJ EURSTOXX 50 3,727.80 48.77 FTSE 100 6,891.43 36.41 CAC 40 5,083.52 49.46 DAXX 12,086.01 217.68

 US  surge 1%; Dow up over 250 points  Pending home sales rose 3.1% in February  US consumer spending rises modestly; savings at 2-year high

U.S. stocks closed more than 1 percent higher on Monday amid encouraging talk of stimulus in Asia, as investors eyed the week's economic data. Personal income in February was mostly in-line with consensus, posting a gain of 0.4 percent, above expectations of 0.3 percent. Consumer spending rose 0.1 percent. Pending homes sales were up 3.1 percent in February, driven primarily by sales in the West and Midwest. The Dow Jones industrial average gained more than 260 points. The S&P 500 rose more than 1 percent, with energy leading sector advancers with an increase of more than 2 percent as oil prices fell. UnitedHealth is buying pharmacy benefits manager Catamaran for $12.8 billion or $61.50 per share and combining it with its OptumRx unit. The California-based biopharmaceutical company, Hyperion Therapeutics, is being bought by Ireland's Horizon Pharma for $1.1 billion in cash or $46 per share. Auspex Pharmaceuticals is being bought by Teva for $101 per share, or $3.2 billion in cash. Auspex, which went public last year, specializes in treatments for patients with movement disorders and other rare diseases. The U.S. dollar gained about 0.8 percent against major currencies on Monday, with the euro near $1.08. Crude oil settled down 19 cents at $48.68 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The continuing trends in the dollar and oil are expected to weigh negatively on earnings reports in April. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 263.65 points, or 1.49 percent, at 17,976.30, with Boeing leading gains and Intel and Microsoft the only blue chips lagging. The S&P 500 closed up 25.22 points, or 1.22 percent, at 2,086.24, as energy led gains across all ten sectors. The first trading day of the second quarter, which begins on April 1, has shown strong performance over the past 20 years, according to the Trader's Almanac. During that time, the S&P 500 advanced 16 times with an average gain of 0.56 percent. The index only declined four times, most recently in 2013 when April 1 was the

day after Easter, which has marked the S&P 500's worst post-holiday trading session. The Nasdaq closed up 56.22 points, or 1.15 percent, at 4,947.44. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield traded at 1.9546 percent. The CBOE Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, traded near 14. About three shares advanced for every decliner on the New York Stock Exchange, with an exchange of 670.40 million and a composite volume of nearly 2.8 billion at the close. Gold futures closed $14.30 down at $1,185.50 an ounce. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) closed about 1 percent higher. Yahoo and Microsoft will extend talks aimed at renegotiating their 10-year search partnership by 30 days. The two had originally struck the partnership in 2010 in hopes of better competing with Google. Best Buy will consolidate and close stores in Canada, in a move that the electronics retailer said will cost it up to $280 million in restructuring charges this year. DreamWorks Animation's movie "Home" topped the weekend box office with better-than- expected North American ticket sales of $54 million. "Home" will be the only release by the firm in 2015. Realty Income will replace Windstream Holdings in the S&P 500 after the close on Monday, April 6.

 EUROPE & UK  European stocks rebound as tech shares turn higher  FTSEurofirst up 1.2 pct, DAX rises 1.8 pct  Europe mixed as Greece weighs on sentiment

European stocks rose on Monday, bouncing back from last week's losses with tech shares rallying after merger talks in the industry spurred rallies in the sector. Shares in European technology stock Infineon rose 4.2 percent, while its peers STMicroelectronics and ASML rose 3.6 percent and 2.9 percent respectively. U.S. tech stocks had climbed on Friday after news of Intel's talks to buy fellow chipmaker Altera in a deal likely to top $10 billion. Signs of merger and acquisition activity also pushed up the shares of Yoox by 10 percent, after Yoox and Richemont's Net-a-Porter confirmed they were in talks to form an online fashion industry leader. Corporate deals, along with new economic stimulus measures from the European Central Bank which have helped to weaken the euro on currency markets, have driven European stock markets to new highs this year. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 1.2 percent to 1,596.31 points, back near a 7-1/2 year high of 1,613.80 points reached earlier in March. Germany's DAX also rose 1.8 percent to 12,086.01 points, near a record high of 12,219.05 points hit in mid-March. European equities are expected to open mixed on Tuesday as Greek debt talks continue to weigh on market sentiment. The FTSE is seen opening higher by 3 points at 6,894, the German DAX down 19 points at 12,067 and the French CAC down 11 points at 5,072. Greece sent a list of reforms Friday, but a euro zone official said the list was more like a collection of ideas than something that could be presented to the Eurogroup of finance ministers. The country is due to run out of money in around three weeks' time. In other news, consumer confidence hit a 12-year high in the U.K. in March, according to economic polling company GfK, who said the data could boost U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron's chances of re-election at a general election on May 7.Data releases Tuesday include euro zone inflation for March and the February unemployment rate for the region. There are no major earnings due.

 ASIA

 Asian shares rise on China's easing measures, but Nikkei lags  China eases housing tax, lending rules to fight downturn

Asian equities were largely buoyant on Tuesday, tracking a more than 1 percent jump on Wall Street overnight after Beijing unleashed new policy moves to rejuvenate a wobbly property market. According to a statement on the People's Bank of China's website, the required down payment for second homes was lowered to 40 percent from 60 percent. In addition, select homeowners who have held a property for two years or more will be exempted from a sales tax, the finance ministry later announced. China's benchmark Shanghai Composite index retreated from fresh seven-year highs attained at the open, as developers pared gains. While China Merchants Property and Poly Real Estate held on to 2.2 and 1.8 percent gains, China Vanke - the mainland's largest property developers by market value - receded 0.5 percent. Helped by record full-year profits, railway manufacturers China CNR and CSR notched up 14 percent each. Brokerages were also higher, Haitong Securities and Citic Securities advanced nearly 3 percent each. Australia's S&P ASX 200 index closed up amid a broad-based rally, recouping nearly all of Monday's steep decline. Financials were also buoyant, with Australia & New Zealand Banking leading gains in the sector, up 0.8 percent. Meanwhile, Ansell will acquire U.K.-based protective clothing company Microgard for approximately $88 million. Shares of the glove and condom maker closed down 0.8 percent as Morningstar downgraded its rating on the stock to reduce from hold. Japan's Nikkei 225 index widened losses as investors avoided taking large positions on the last trading day of the fiscal year. In particular, railway companies struggled, with Central Japan Railway, West Japan Railway and East Japan Railway making losses between 3.7 and 5.1 percent. Fujifilm Holdings bounced up nearly 3 percent following news that it is acquiring U.S. biotechnology firm Cellular Dynamics International for $307 million. Pigeon soared 3.3 percent to a record high on the back of the baby products maker's plan to carry out for a 3- for-1 stock split. South Korea's Kospi index was bolstered by a positive showing of its blue-chip and financial plays. The country's top two heaviest-weighted stocks Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor climbed 0.8 and 0.6 percent each. Shinhan Financial and KB Financial Group edged up over 1 percent, while Hyundai Securities and Daewoo Securities elevated 1 and 0.4 percent, respectively, on hopes of stronger earnings

Economic Release

 EUR Event Previous Forecast

German Retail Sales m/m 2.90% -0.90% French Consumer Spending m/m 0.60% 0.30% German Unemployment Change -20K -10K CPI Flash Estimate y/y -0.30% -0.30% Core CPI Flash Estimate y/y 0.60% 0.60% Unemployment Rate 11.20% 11.20%

 GBP

Event Previous Forecast

Current Account -27.0B -21.2B Final GDP q/q 0.50% 0.50%

 US Event Previous Forecast

CB Consumer Confidence 96.4 96.6 Chicago PMI 45.8 52.5

DOMESTIC MARKET

Stocks Last Close Change Volume SOLIDERE A 11.1 11.35 0.25 14118 SOLIDERE B 11.16 11.12 0.04 1217 SOLIDERE GDR 11.25 11.25 0.00 0 HOLCIM 15 15 0.00 0 BLOM GDR 10.1 10 0.10 10250 BLOM BANK 9.7 9.7 0.00 0 AUDI GDR 7 7 0.00 0 AUDI 6.76 6.76 0.00 0 BYBLOS GDR 76.5 76.5 0.00 0 BYBLOS BANK 1.73 1.71 0.02 30000

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

FX Spot NY Closing EUR 1.0785 1.0833 GBP 1.4784 1.4810 AUD 0.7632 0.7654 JPY 120.13 120.07 CHF 0.9698 0.9671 CAD 1.2708 1.2675 AMD 471.1300 471.3600 RUB 57.7170 57.4911 Commodities Spot Closing GOLD 1181.95 1186.08 SILVER 16.535 16.7335 CRUDE OIL 48 48.68

Market Summary

Commodities

Oil extends losses as deadline for Iran nuclear deal looms Oil futures extended losses on Tuesday, as Iran and six world powers ramped up the pace of negotiations to reach a preliminary deal that could ease sanctions and allow more Iranian crude onto world markets. With a deadline less than 24 hours away, United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China were trying to break an impasse in negotiations aimed at stopping Iran from having the capacity to develop a nuclear bomb, in exchange for an easing of international sanctions. Officials said talks on a framework accord, which is intended as a prelude to a comprehensive agreement by the end of June, could yet fall apart over disagreements on enrichment research and the pace of lifting sanctions. Brent oil was 35 cents lower at $55.94 a barrel by 0244 GMT. The contract had settled down 12 cents on Monday. U.S. crude was down 56 cents at $48.12 a barrel, after closing 19 cents lower. Iran could increase oil production by some 500,000 barrel a per day (bpd) in three to six months if sanctions are removed, and by an additional 700,000 bpd within another year, according to estimates by Facts Global Energy.

Gold set for 2nd monthly loss as US rate hike eyed Gold edged lower on Tuesday and was heading for a second straight monthly fall, pressured by expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will increase interest rates this year. Bullion has fallen nearly 3 percent, since hitting a three-week high above $1,200 an ounce last week, as the dollar gained after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Friday signaled a rate hike is well on the central bank's cards later this year. Citing sustained gains in the U.S. economy, Yellen's remarks halted gold's longest rally since 2012, that had been spurred by hopes the Fed would take it slow in raising rates. Spot gold was down 0.1 percent at $1,184.31 an ounce by 0207 GMT, after falling as much as 1.4 percent to $1,182.05 on Monday. Bullion is down more than 2 percent so far in March, but nearly flat for the quarter. U.S. gold for April delivery edged up 0.1 percent to $1,186 an ounce. Investors are eyeing U.S. jobs data on Friday with a robust report likely to lift expectations that policymakers could lift U.S. interest rates sooner than later. But outside the labour market, there were still signs that the U.S. economy hit a soft patch in the first quarter. Consumer spending barely rose in February as households used the windfall from lower gasoline prices to boost savings to the highest level in more than two years. In other precious metals, spot palladium climbed 1.1 percent to $734.25 an ounce, after dropping to $721.98 on Monday, its weakest since February last year.

FX

Yen, Aussie hit hard as dollar gains traction

The dollar was firmer against most of its peers early on Tuesday, having posted its biggest one-day rally in over a month against the yen and notching up solid gains on its Australian counterpart. Traders pointed to a variety of reasons including month-end and quarter-end flows that helped underpin the greenback. The dollar fetched 120.15 yen, well off Monday's trough of 119.105. The bounce offered hope that its recent slide from a near eight-year peak of 122.04 to 118.33 might have run its course for now. The greenback firmed only modestly against the euro, which last stood at $1.0823, down from

Monday's high of $1.0900. Recent failed attempts to break above $1.1000 have frustrated those trying to push up the euro. As a result, the dollar index climbed to 98.070, pulling further away from a low of 96.170 set last week after a dovish steer from the Federal Reserve unsettled dollar bulls. Among the worst performing major currencies overnight was the Australian dollar, which skidded more than one U.S. cent to as low as $0.7633. It last stood at $0.7650, back near a six-year trough of $0.7561 set earlier in the month. Persistent weakness in commodity prices, worries about slower Chinese growth and expectations of interest rate cuts at home have conspired to knock the Aussie lower. In contrast, U.S. data on Monday provided a more benign backdrop for the greenback. An industry report showed a pick-up in home sales, while a measure of core inflation quickened to 1.4 percent, from 1.3 percent, in the 12 months through February.

Technical FX

EURUSD The Euro is digesting gains after rallying as expected against the US Dollar following the appearance of a bullish Piercing Line . A daily close above the march 26 high at 1.1051 exposes the 38.2% at 1.1263. GBP/USD The British Pound appears poised to test familiar range support near the 1.47 figure against the US Dollar. A daily close below the 50% Fibonacci expansion at 1.4706 exposes the 61.8% level at 1.4597. USD/JPY The US Dollar issued the largest daily advance in seven weeks against the Japanese Yen after finding support above the 119.00 figure. A daily close above the intersection of trend line support-turned-resistance and the 38.2% Fibonacci expansion at 120.68 exposes the 50% level at 121.41. AUD/USD The Australian Dollar is sliding downward against its US counterpart as expected after producing a Doji candlestick. Near-term support is in the 0.7559-7618 area (23.6% Fibonacci expansion, March 11 low), with a break below that on a daily closing basis exposing the 38.2% level at 0.7421. USD/CHF The US Dollar is digesting losses against the Swiss Franc after finding support below the 0.95 figure. A daily close below the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement at 0.9428 exposes the 50% level at 0.9213. USD/CAD The US Dollar continues to tread water in a familiar range below the 1.28 figure against its Canadian namesake. A daily close below the 1.2381-2448 area (January 27 low, 23.6% Fibonacci retracement) exposes the 38.2% level at 1.2208. EUR/GBP The Euro may be preparing to turn lower against the British Pound once again after prices put in a bearish Evening Star candlestick pattern. A daily close below the 14.6% Fibonacci expansion at 0.7258 exposes the 23.6% level at 0.7181. EUR/JPY The Euro is digesting losses after turning sharply lower from resistance below 132.00 against the Japanese Yen. Near-term trend line resistance-turned-support is at 128.63, with a break below that on a daily closing basis exposing the 38.2% Fibonacci expansion at 128.00.

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