The Chilean index rose by 1.1% to 6,593.57 points, while one-month swap rates were sharply revised downwards, also amid international optimism.

Global stock advances continue on Wednesday, and the Chilean stock exchange joins in with new highs driven by a strong rebound in SQM, amid increasing investor interest in benefiting from the expected lower interest rates in the country.

The S&P IPSA rose by 1.12% to 6,593.57 points – session highs – in the early afternoon at the Santiago Stock Exchange, which, if sustained, would mark a new historical high, extending its performance from the previous day. The biggest gains were seen in SQM-B (4.36%), CMPC (2.5%), and Ripley (2.03%), with only six out of the 29 IPSA stocks in the negative.

There is more stability in emerging markets, with flows that have been leaving China and reinvesting in other regions, and when you have the Central Bank of Chile making comments like those of last week, indicating they will be more aggressive in lowering the rate, that gives confidence to investors.

One-month swap rates plunged by up to 14 basis points (bp), a sign that the bet on a 100 bp rate cut for the April 2nd meeting of the Central Bank is gaining ground, from the median of 75 bp recorded in the Financial Operators Survey (EOF) published this morning by the regulatory body.

Global Markets

In New York, the Dow Jones rose by 0.64%, the S&P 500 gained 0.35%, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.13%.

In Europe, the Euro Stoxx 50 rose by 0.32% to a new record, with the Swedish H&M (15.19%) soaring after its strong quarterly results.

Stock markets are seeing low trading volumes due to the Easter holiday, and therefore it’s conceivable that the intention to register a more positive quarterly close is also prevailing among market participants. This is because low flows tend to favor these types of trends, leaving fundamental aspects somewhat sidelined.