(ABM FN-Dow Jones) The European stock markets will open slightly higher on Thursday. IG Markets forecasts an opening gain of 32 points for the German DAX, a 23 point gain for the French CAC 40 and a 35 point increase for the UK FTSE 100.
European stocks closed slightly higher on Wednesday, recovering somewhat from Tuesday’s negatives.
“After a significant sell-off in Asia, European markets initially started in the red,” noted market analyst Michael Hewson of CMC Markets. “During the day, losses dissipated, on the back of positive business updates and a recovery in the basic utilities sector as a result of higher metal prices.”
Markets are currently grappling with fears that central banks will raise interest rates more quickly. “If interest rates rise and bond prices fall, equity markets will also lose ground,” Simon Wiersma, investment manager at ING, summed up the situation.
The British announced an annual inflation rate of 5.4 percent for December. In November this was still 5.1 percent. The reported figures were higher than anticipated. Germany confirmed an inflation rate of 5.3 percent for December on Wednesday.
The eurozone’s current account surplus in November amounted to 24 billion euros, compared to 19 billion euros a month earlier.
Oil was up 1.4 percent on Wednesday. Global demand for oil this year has surpassed pre-coronavirus levels, according to expectations in the International Energy Agency’s monthly report on Wednesday.
The euro/dollar traded at 1.1343. At the start of the trading day, the currency pair moved at 1.1337 and when the US stock exchanges closed on Tuesday, the plates were at 1.1323.
Company news
ASML announced results on Wednesday that were initially well received, but the stock closed flat.
In Frankfurt, Zalando shares rose 3.4 percent and Sartorius gained 1.3 percent. Delivery Hero was still under pressure on Tuesday, but today a recovery of 2.1 percent was recorded.
Euro STOXX 50 4,262.10 (+0.1%)
STOXX Europe 600 480,90 (+0,2%)
DAX 15.809,72 (+0,2%)
CAC 40 7,172.98 (+0.6%)
FTSE 100 7,589.66 (+ 0.4%)
SMI 12,525.69 (-0.0%)
AEX 772,56 (+0,4%)
BEL 20 4,210.74 (-0.2%)
FTSE MIB 27.370,85 (-0,4%)
IBEX 35 8.774,90 (-0,1%)
US EQUITIES
Wall Street opens higher on Thursday, according to US futures.
US stocks slumped towards the end of the trading day on Wednesday, wiping out previous gains completely.
“The resilience of European stocks initially helped Wall Street move forward after Tuesday’s strong sell-off,” said market analyst Michael Hewson of CMC Markets. Hewson also saw some support from the bond markets, where yields were falling.
“Yet the American stock markets are also experiencing some resistance, which means that further price increases are not forthcoming,” the analyst said. In the end, the stock markets even plunged into the red again. “I think we’re going to see this kind of volatility more often,” said Janus Henderson analyst Matt Peron. “There will have to be changes in the way investors view the market and that takes time.”
Resistance has come in recent days from inflation and concerns about how aggressive central banks will become to counter it,” said Brian O’Reilly of Mediolanum Asset Management. consumer will spend less “The market is certainly nervous at the moment.”
Investors are increasingly counting on the Federal Reserve and other major central banks to tighten monetary policy severely to stop high inflation. This removes a mainstay from the high valuations in the stock markets, which have been pushed upwards thanks to years of very accommodative monetary policy.
Expectations for central banks to intervene have risen following signs that price increases have outpaced supply chain problems following capacity reductions during the coronavirus pandemic.
The stock markets are getting some support from strong corporate data. “While Goldman Sachs shares fell sharply on Tuesday amid concerns about higher costs and weaker investment bank returns, Bank of America shares shook off such concerns today,” CMC’s Hewson said. Morgan Stanley also increased in value after an update on the fourth quarter.
US housing construction on Wednesday showed unexpected growth in December, with 1.4 percent more homes being built than a month earlier. The number of building permits issued even rose by 9 percent. A decrease was expected for both figures, due to shortages of labor and building materials.
The price of oil rose further on Wednesday, after closing on Tuesday at its highest level since 2014. A fire at an oil pipeline between Iraq and Turkey bolstered oil prices, alongside positive outlook from the International Energy Agency. A February future for a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.8 percent, closing at $86.96 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Company news
Morgan Stanley posted a higher quarterly profit, while revenues also rose slightly, but lagged slightly behind expectations. The stock rose by just under two percent.
Bank of America reported a 28 percent increase in earnings, where analysts had forecast a smaller increase. Revenues increased by 10 percent. Analysts were counting on more here. The bank closed several tenths of a percent higher.
Procter & Gamble raised its profit forecast, according to a quarterly update from the laundry and household goods maker. Sales grew more than the market forecast, by 6 percent. The stock rose by more than three percent.
Freight forwarder JB Hunt paid a special $11 million bonus to its frontline employees in December. The company is investing in its employees as the market for drivers, trucks and trailers is very tight. The $1 billion investment target was missed last year, mainly due to supply chain delays. The share of JB Hunt made a stop.
Sony shares fell sharply after news of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard on Tuesday, as it threatens to create a major competitor. Major games such as Call of Duty and World of Warcraft would therefore merge with Microsoft’s Xbox platform. Sony lost 5.0 percent, while Microsoft gained 0.2 percent.
The American meal delivery company DoorDash is looking at a complete takeover of the German flash delivery company Flink. This was reported by the German website Manager Magazin on Wednesday. DoorDash won 2.5 percent.
United Airlines and aluminum giant Alcoa follow after market with figures.
S&P 500 index 4.532,76 (-1,0%)
Dow Jones index 35.028,65 (-1,0%)
Nasdaq Composite 14.340,26 (-1,2%)
ASIA
Asian stocks were higher on Thursday.
Nikkei 225 27.775,34 (+1,1%)
Shanghai Composite 3.559,25 (+0,0%)
Hang Seng 24,762.85 (+ 2.6%)
EVALUATE
The euro/dollar traded at 1.1349. When the US markets closed on Wednesday, the currency pair still moved at 1.1349 and at the close of the European markets there was still a position of 1.1330 on the plates.
USD/JPY Yen 114,48
EUR/USD Euro 1,1349
EUR/JPY Yen 129,89
MACRO-AGENDA:
00:50 Trade Balance – December (Jap)
06:30 Household consumption – November (NL)
06:30 Consumer confidence – January (NL)
06:30 Unemployment – December (NL)
08:00 Producer Awards – December (Ger)
08:45 Business confidence – January (Fra)
11:00 Inflation – December final (EUR)
12:00 Turkish Central Bank – Interest Rate Decision (Tur)
13:30 European Central Bank – Minutes (eur)
14:30 Support Requests – Weekly (US)
14:30 Philadelphia Fed index – Januari (VS)
16:00 Existing Home Sales – December (US)
17:00 Oil Stocks – Weekly (US)
COMPANY NEWS:
13:00 American Airlines – US Fourth Quarter Figures
22:00 Netflix – Fourth Quarter Figures (US)
22:00 PPG Industries – US Fourth Quarter Figures
Bron: ABM Financial News
From Beursplein 5, the editors of ABM Financial News keep a close eye on developments on the stock exchanges, and the Amsterdam stock exchange in particular. The information in this column is not intended as professional investment advice or as a recommendation to make certain investments.
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