(ABM FN) The Brussels stock exchange seems to open lower on Monday.
Futures on the Euro Stoxx 50 index pointed to a loss of 0.8 percent about an hour before the stock market bell. Last week, the Bel20 almost made a step back on a weekly basis with a closing score of 4,221.39 points.
The US Federal Reserve made it clear last week that it will raise interest rates vigorously to bring inflation under control. In the event of a turmoil in the stock markets, the Fed was invariably ready to put out the fire by means of monetary easing, while it can feel as if the Fed is throwing oil on the fire.
The yield on US government bonds has been anticipating the upcoming interest rate hikes in recent weeks. In the past week, interest rates even rose every day and the yield on the ten-year treasury rose from 2.38 percent to 2.71 percent. This morning there is already an increase of 6 basis points on the plates.
This rally accelerated Wednesday evening after the release of the minutes of the Fed’s latest rate decision. It emerged that the central bank is looking to shrink its balance sheet by $95 billion a month and many bankers have tended to raise interest rates by half a percentage point at the last meeting instead of a quarter of a percentage point, but uncertainty about the war in Ukraine still stopped them,
The European Central Bank’s interest rate decision will be released this week. Although the ECB has recently given itself flexibility for a rate hike by adjusting forward guidance, the ECB does not appear to be taking any action on Thursday.
On the inflation front, investors in Asia were startled this morning by higher-than-expected Chinese producer prices. Prices rose 8.3 percent year-on-year in March, with analysts polled by Reuters news agency expecting a 7.9 percent increase. Consumer prices also rose by 1.5 percent, where an increase of only 1.2 percent was expected.
Stocks in China lost 2 to 3 percent this morning. Tokyo is limiting the damage with a loss of less than 1 percent, while the Sydney stock exchange, with many commodities stocks and banks, is trading flat.
Oil prices are also under pressure in Asia this morning. US oil futures are down 2.5 percent at $95.96 a barrel. Last week, black gold was already one percent cheaper on a weekly basis.
Analysts point to a host of factors currently driving oil price pressures, including rising US oil inventories, the release of oil from strategic reserves, fears of stagflation and Russia’s ability to continue producing and selling oil to Europe, among others. , China and India, despite efforts by Washington to get more countries to stop importing Russian energy.
In New York, the main indices closed split on Friday evening. The fairly traditionally composed Dow Jones index gained just under half a percent, while tech exchange Nasdaq gave just 1.3 percent. The earnings season starts this week in the US. Traditionally, the banks are the first on the agenda. Investors will be told how JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, among others, performed in the past quarter.
President Emmanuel Macron received the most votes in the first round of the French election this weekend, followed by right-wing leader Marine Le Pen, who will now challenge the president in the second round. It is expected to be an exciting battle in which public frustration over high inflation and immigration will play a prominent role.
Le Pen is a staunch opponent of the European Union, although she has publicly moderated her tone in recent years. Gains for Le Pen are expected to be negative for the euro. The euro/dollar currency pair traded at 1.0887 this morning. Around the turn of the year there was still a stand of 1,1300 on the plates.
Company news
Kepler Cheuvreux lowered the price target for D’Ieteren from 193.00 to 190.00 euros, but repeated the buy recommendation.
In March, Euronext cash market volumes increased by 31 percent on a monthly basis. On an annual basis, there was an increase of 26 percent.
Oxurion will present preclinical data on THR-687 for the treatment of macular edema in diabetes at an annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology in Denver, USA.
Wall Street closing positions
The S&P 500 fell 0.3 percent Friday at 4,488.28 points and the Dow Jones index gained 0.4 percent at 34,721.12 points. The Nasdaq closed 1.3 percent lower at 13,711.00 points.
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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