Bel20 starts lower towards US inflation figures

(ABM FN) The Brussels stock market seems to start lower on Tuesday, in the run-up to new US inflation figures.

Futures on the Euro Stoxx 50 index pointed to a loss of about 1 percent about an hour before the gong on Tuesday. Wall Street closed Monday evening led by tech stocks at the lowest level of the trading day, while Asian stocks also lost ground this morning.

Investors are watching with apprehension as bond yields continue to climb, reflecting the inflationary environment and responding central banks with tightening policies. All eyes will therefore be on the release of US inflation in March this afternoon.

The White House warned investors Monday of a possible extreme outcome in the run-up to inflation figures. “We expect extraordinarily high inflation due to price increases brought on by Putin,” press secretary Jen Psaki said.

In February, annual inflation was still at 7.9 percent, already the highest level since 1982. Psaki warned, however, that these figures account for most of the increases in oil and gas prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. , haven’t even been processed yet.

The press secretary added that he expected a wide gap between inflation and core inflation, which does not include volatile energy and food prices.

This morning the annual yield on ten-year US Treasuries was 2.81 percent. At the beginning of March, there was still a return of 1.72 percent on the plates. The long-standing credo on the stock exchanges that there is no alternative to shares, or TINA, has come under pressure as a result.

In the eurozone, the European Central Bank is still very reluctant to raise interest rates for the time being, but here too interest rates are rising rapidly. In Belgium, for example, just before the turn of the year, the state received money with the issuance of ten-year bonds. On Monday, the yield rose by no less than 6 basis points to 1.32 percent.

Expensive tech stocks are especially sensitive to rising interest rates and the Nasdaq index on Wall Street fell more than 2 percent on Monday evening. The Dow Jones index lost 1.2 percent.

In Asia, investors are currently particularly concerned about the increasingly strict lockdowns in China, which are the result of the policy to aim for zero corona infections. Last week, figures from purchasing managers already showed that the Chinese economy is likely to contract.

The Tokyo stock market lost nearly 2 percent this morning, while the Chinese stock markets are trading in the green thanks to a late rally. Oil futures are also more than 2 percent higher this morning. On Monday, the future was down about 4 percent.

In addition to the US inflation figures, German inflation is also on the agenda in March. It will be released before the market this morning.

Company news

Cofinimmo is going to build a residential care center in Finland. It is a complex with 98 rooms in the Finnish Raisio. The investment budget is approximately 15 million euros. The center is already pre-let.

Care Property Invest acquired three existing and fully operational residential care centers in Ireland. The three residences accommodate 169 residents and have a total contract value of 32.7 million euros.

Sequana’s turnover fell by 62 percent in 2021 from 963,000 to 371,000 euros, due to fewer alfa pumps being delivered. EBIT rose by 27 percent, from a loss of 17.8 million to a loss of 22.6 million. Sequana thinks that the so-called premarket approval can be submitted to the US FDA in mid-2023.

Bone Therapeutics reached an agreement on a convertible bond worth 5 million euros.

Wall Street closing positions

The S&P 500 lost 1.7 percent Monday at 4,412.53 points and the Dow Jones index fell 1.2 percent at 34,308.08 points. The Nasdaq closed 2.2 percent lower at 13,411.96 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.

–