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By Bloomberg

The euro weakened amid few signs of progress in talks between Greece and its creditors, while oil fell as Iranian and Western diplomats worked toward a nuclear deal. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures signaled the gauge will trim its ninth consecutive quarterly advance.

The 19-nation shared currency slid 0.9 percent to $1.0733 by 6:03 a.m. in New York in its worst quarter since the euro was introduced in 1999. Greek bonds slipped. S&P 500 futures lost 0.6 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index decreased 0.3 percent and shares in Shanghai declined from a seven-year high. Australia’s dollar depreciated as iron ore dropped to a 10-year low, while U.S. oil fell 2.4 percent.

Only the Brazilian real and Danish krone fared worse than the euro among 17 major currencies tracked by Bloomberg this quarter as the European Central Bank began a 1.1 trillion-euro ($1.2 trillion) bond-buying program. The MSCI All-Country World Index climbed 2.5 percent in the first three months, its best start to a year since 2013, as central banks from Europe to Asia boosted stimulus, while oil led commodities lower for a third straight quarter.

An expansionary ECB is “overlapping with the political risk and as a consequence we are seeing this generalized reversal in the euro over the last couple of sessions,” said Jeremy Stretch, head of foreign-exchange strategy at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in London. “There’s this general fear that this potential cash crunch is looming relatively soon on the horizon.”

Fed Rates

The euro is down more than 11 percent against the dollar since Dec. 31 as ECB easing contrasts with the Federal Reserve’s move toward raising interest rates, and Greek woes add to risks in the currency bloc. It fell 0.9 percent to 128.97 yen on Tuesday and weakened against all its 16 major counterparts apart from the Norwegian krone.

Switzerland’s franc had the biggest gain among major currencies versus the dollar this quarter, rising 2.1 percent. Brazil’s real slid almost 18 percent.

Australia’s dollar lost 0.8 percent to 75.92 U.S. cents, declining for a sixth day and on course for a third quarterly loss on speculation the Reserve Bank of Australia will cut interest rates next week as iron ore prices slide and China’s economy slows down.

Greece’s three-year note yields increased 73 basis points to 21.44 percent after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s proposals to bolster the nation’s finances failed to satisfy his European creditors.

Credit Risk

Credit-default swaps insuring against losses on $10 million of Greek government debt for five years cost $4.6 million upfront and $100,000 annually, signaling a 74 percent probability of default, according to CMA. That’s up from $3.6 million in advance and a 63 percent chance of default at the end of last year.

Spain’s 10-year yield declined five basis points to 1.22 percent and Italy’s dropped four basis points to 1.27 percent, while Germany’s was little changed at 0.20 percent.

Government debt in the euro region returned 0.9 percent in March, set for the 15th monthly gain in a row, according to the Bloomberg Eurozone Sovereign Bond Index.

Treasury 10-year note yields were little changed at 1.95 percent. U.S. securities returned 1.6 percent so far this year, versus 4 percent for those in the euro region, based on Bloomberg World Bond indexes.

European Rally

The Stoxx 600 has rallied 17 percent this year, led by a surge in automakers. The European gauge closed 1.4 percent away from a record reached in 2000 on Monday. Benchmark equity measures of Germany, Portugal and Italy have jumped more than 20 percent in the past three months. Greece is the only one falling this quarter among 18 western-European markets. Its ASE Index added 2.6 percent on Tuesday.

Kingfisher Plc climbed 4.6 percent as Europe’s largest home-improvement retailer said it will close stores, stock more products and create a new global leadership team to reignite sales growth.

Antofagasta Plc added 2 percent after people familiar with the matter said it has explored a merger with Teck Resources Ltd. The companies said they currently aren’t in negotiations to combine. Teck Resources fell 4.8 percent in German trading.

Yoox SpA jumped 13 percent after agreeing to buy Cie. Financiere Richemont SA’s Net-a-Porter business for stock valued at about 719 million euros ($775 million). Shares of the Swiss company slipped 0.4 percent.

Bank of Ireland Plc fell 5.6 percent as Prem Watsa’s Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. began selling half of its 5.8 percent stake in the lender.

Property Values

S&P 500 E-mini futures expiring in June slipped after the index rallied the most in two weeks on Monday, closing 1.5 percent away from a record reached this month. The gauge is up 1.3 percent this year, heading for a ninth straight quarterly increase, the longest stretch since 1998. The Nasdaq Composite Index of tech shares has advanced 4.5 percent in the past three months.

In the U.S., the S&P/Case-Shiller index may show property values climbed in January, while the Conference Board’s sentiment index was unchanged in March, economists forecast.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index added 0.5 percent, extending this year’s increase to 1.8 percent.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of Chinese stocks listed in Hong Kong jumped 1.5 percent to the highest close since 2011. The Shanghai Composite Index slid 0.9 percent, falling from the highest since March 2008. The gauge’s relative strength index climbed to 81 on Tuesday, the highest among major markets worldwide. Readings above 70 are a signal to some traders that shares have climbed too far, too fast.

Ruble Falls

Russia’s ruble fell 0.3 percent, trimming this month’s advance to 6.7 percent, the biggest gain among 24 major emerging markets. The Micex Index of stocks rose 0.2 percent, leaving it 8.1 percent lower in March, its first monthly decline this year.

Nigeria’s July 2023 Eurobond rose for a ninth day, sending the yield three basis points lower to 6.48 percent. Former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari took a lead in the presidential race yesterday with half of the 36 states reporting results.

West Texas Intermediate crude slipped to $47.70 a barrel, heading for a third quarterly loss. Brent oil fell 1.8 percent in a third day of declines, to $55.28 a barrel.

Iran and world powers are beginning a final day of talks to reach an outline agreement on the country’s nuclear program amid speculation a deal may lead to the OPEC member increasing crude exports. Iran, the fifth biggest producer in the group, could boost outflows by 1 million barrels a day if sanctions were lifted, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said March 16.

Supplies Climb

Iron ore is headed for the biggest quarterly loss since at least 2009 as surging low-cost supplies from Australia and Brazil swamp the global market, spurring a glut as demand from China slows. The raw material retreated to $52.69 a dry metric ton on Monday, the lowest since 2004-2005, based on data from Metal Bulletin and benchmarks compiled by Clarkson Plc.

Nickel declined to the lowest in almost six years amid concern that shrinking stainless steel output in China, the world’s biggest producer, will hurt demand for the metal. Nickel fell 1.8 percent to $12,660 a ton on the London Metal Exchange.

The Bloomberg Commodity Index fell for a third day, falling to the lowest since March 20. Gold dropped 0.4 percent to a one- week low and copper fell 0.7 percent in London.