(ABM FN-Dow Jones) The Amsterdam stock exchange will open higher on Wednesday, after a green close on Wall Street following a performance by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
The future on the AEX is about an hour before opening 0.6 percent higher.
Powell’s words caused the necessary volatility on Tuesday evening, but ultimately resulted in green closing positions in New York.
Powell said investors can count on inflation falling significantly this year as the disinflation process has begun. Investors hope that the Fed will be able to cut rates again before the end of the year, if inflation has fallen enough by then, as a result of the strong interest rate hikes that have since been implemented.
“The reality is we’re going to act on the numbers, so if we get, say, strong labor market reports or higher inflation numbers, we may well have to do more and raise rates beyond what investors have priced in,” he said. Powell.
Powell’s comments brought little news and did not undermine the recent stock market rally, TradeStation analysts said. “Also, a 25 basis point rate hike in March now seems almost certain and there is a chance that this will be the last hike. That creates a possible Goldilocks scenario.”
However, other analysts warn that recent economic macro data is leading to a wider gap between what the market is pricing in rate hikes and the Fed’s expectations of economic and financial developments.
“Powell’s words are being put under a magnifying glass,” analysts at Newton Investment Management said. “But it seems that the central bank does not want to intervene too quickly by raising interest rates much further.”
The euro/dollar was trading at 1.0730 this morning. That was 1.0695 leading up to Powell’s performance.
The US ten-year yield is quoted at 3.651 percent.
Oil became more than 4 percent more expensive on Tuesday. This afternoon US oil stocks are on the roll.
Company news
Adyen saw a significant increase in turnover and profit in the second half of 2022, partly thanks to strong volume growth, but the results were somewhat lower than expected. Adyen also announced that it has found a new co-CEO in Ingo Uytdehaage. He will lead the company alongside Pieter van der Does. Ethan Tandowsky will assume the position of CFO, while Kamran Zaki will step down as COO.
ABN AMRO posted less profit in the fourth quarter than a year earlier, when the bank benefited from a hefty profit on the sale of its head office in Amsterdam, but performed much better than expected and also announced a share buyback.
AkzoNobel did see sales increase in the fourth quarter, but its results came under considerable pressure. The company proposes a final dividend of EUR 1.54 per ordinary share for 2022, the same as a year earlier.
Wall Street closing positions
The S&P 500 index closed 1.3 percent higher on Tuesday at 4,164.00 points. The Dow Jones and Nasdaq rose 0.8 and 1.9 percent.
Bron: ABM Financial News
