The broker IG estimated the Dow half an hour before the start a good one percent lower to 30,640 points. In general it has recently been said that the rally on the international stock exchanges has reached its limits for the time being because of the virus that continues to spread. Virus mutations and difficulties starting the vaccination make it more difficult to contain the pandemic and investors then question an economic recovery again.
On Wednesday there are good numbers from Microsoft to be used. The software giant significantly exceeded expectations in the past quarter, mainly thanks to a strong cloud business. This is a welcome surprise for investors, said analyst Raimo Lenschow of Barclays Bank. He sees Microsoft as a kind of mandatory investment in a volatile year. Before the IPO, the shares rose 1.9 percent.
Elsewhere in the recently hot tech sector, investors took profits. As it was said, on Wednesday they were relying on recently below average values. The chip companies AMD and Texas Instruments had given optimistic outlooks, but the shares were down 3.9 and 2.5 percent respectively. Tech investors later turn their gaze to Apple, Facebook and Tesla. The three groups report after the market closes.
The biggest headlines, however, continue to be made by the roller coaster share of the troubled computer game retailer Gamestop, which has been exposed to the battle of strength between short speculators and their opponents for days. The latter is said to have recently mobilized in Internet forums, on Wednesday they will continue to have the upper hand.
Most recently, the name of the hedge fund Melvin Capital falls among the short-sellers as “victims”. According to statements by a manager to the television broadcaster CNBC, it has now completely closed its short positions in Gamestop. The jump in securities is not over for the time being, however: the securities that were traded at $ 20 two weeks ago temporarily approached the $ 250 mark, and recently there was another price jump of almost 60 percent.
According to a market watcher, massive movements will take place against this backdrop on Wednesday – with shorted stocks that are making massive gains and recently well-performing papers such as those from the renewable energies sector that are coming under massive pressure. According to the expert, this brings with it the risk of further such fluctuations with effective algorithms.
Something similar recently happened at the electric truck startup Nikola. However, after a price jump of 24 percent the previous day, its papers gave way by 3.5 percent before the market. Beyond Meat were also noticeably improved the day before in the course of a cooperation with Pepsico, and now they have fallen by almost 5 percent. / Tih / fba
(AWP)
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