U.S. stocks opened lower on Thursday as rising U.S. 10-year Treasury yields weighed on technology and growth stocks, while soaring inflation and worries regarding the path of central bank interest rate hikes weighed on investors’ risk appetite.
Before the deadline,Dow Jones Industrial Averagefell more than 100 points or nearly 0.4%,Nasdaq Composite Indexdown 0.7%,S&P 500 Indexfell nearly 0.5%,Philadelphia SemiconductorThe index fell nearly 0.4 percent.
The European Central Bank (ECB) announced the latest policy decision today, as expected by the market, it announced that it will stop bond purchases from July and keep the three major interest rates unchanged, but plans to raise interest rates by 1 yard (25 basis points) next month. It is estimated that in September It will raise interest rates “gradually and continuously”, while suggesting that if inflation does not improve or even worsen in the future, it may raise interest rates significantly in September.
In addition, the ECB also raised its inflation forecast, forecasting an inflation rate of 6.8% in 2022, 3.5% in 2023 and 2.1% in 2024, and lowered its economic growth forecast. (GDP) was significantly lowered to 2.8% and 2.1%, respectively, but the 2024 GDP forecast was slightly raised to 2.1%.
In terms of U.S. economic data, the Labor Department released the latest unemployment benefits data. The number of people receiving unemployment benefits last week was 229,000, an increase of 27,000 from the previously revised 202,000, far below the market’s expected 210,000, a record this year. The highest since February. Continuing unemployment benefits were reported at 1.306 million, slightly lower than market expectations of 1.305 million.
In terms of energy, an explosion occurred at a natural gas export terminal in Texas, the United States, causing violent fluctuations in natural gas prices in Europe and the United States. The explosion means that the amount of natural gas supplied from the United States to Europe is reduced, and the impact may last for three weeks. As a result, gas prices in the UK and Europe have soared, especially as Russia is under European sanctions.
International oil prices are still hovering at high points. According to data released by EIA recently, crude oil inventories in the United States increased to 2.025 million barrels last week, higher than the expected -1.917 million barrels, and the previous value was -5.068 million barrels. However, crude oil inventories are still at multi-year lows. , restraining the downside of oil prices; on the other hand, US gasoline inventories unexpectedly decreased by 800,000 barrels, less than the market expected increase of 1.1 million barrels.
In the Chinese market, foreign media reported that China’s financial regulator may start preliminary discussions on restarting the initial public offering (IPO) of Alibaba’s Ant Group, one of the clear signs so far that authorities have let go of the crackdown on the technology industry. However, the China Securities Regulatory Commission subsequently responded that it did not conduct any evaluation and research work in this regard, but supported eligible platform companies to list at home and abroad. News Alibaba ADR (BABA-US) fell more than 4 percent in early trade.
As of 21:00 on Thursday (9th) Taipei time:
Stocks in focus:
Intel (INTC-US) fell 0.3% to $41.10 a share in early trade
According to foreign media reports, Intel has frozen staff recruitment in its desktop personal computer (PC) and notebook computer chip divisions to cut costs. In addition, top executives including Intel’s chief financial officer and chief executive admitted at a Bank of America conference that the supply chain is still deteriorating, and they are bearish on the outlook for the quarter, especially in PC sales.
Novavax (NVAX-US) fell 2.65% to $48.78 a share in early trade
A spokeswoman for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said changes to Novavax’s vaccine manufacturing process will need to be reviewed before it can be authorized to produce a new crown vaccine in the United States. The FDA statement said Novavax notified the FDA of the changes to its manufacturing process on June 3, and FDA spokeswoman Abby Capobianco noted that the agency will carefully review any information the company submits as part of an ongoing evaluation before authorizing the vaccine for emergency use. Novavax responded that it had shared updated manufacturing data with the FDA.
NIO (NIO-US) fell 8.88% to $18.57 a share in early trade
Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer NIO announced the latest financial report. Although the annual revenue growth exceeded market expectations by more than 20%, the delivery volume hit a record high, and the net loss narrowed compared with the same period last year, but due to the epidemic, the second quarter financial forecast was not as good as expected. .
Today’s key economic data:
- U.S. initial jobless claims reported 229,000 last week, expected 210,000, and the previous value of 202,000
- The number of people receiving unemployment benefits in the United States reported 1.306 million last week, 1.305 million is expected, and the previous value was 1.306 million
Wall Street Analysis:
Geir Lode, head of global equities at Federated Hermes, said the Federal Reserve needs to raise interest rates to rein in soaring prices, a move that might trigger a recession. In addition, the supply chain attack caused by the epidemic and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine are not factors that the central bank can control. In such an environment, we can only hope that stagnant inflation will not occur.
Although the international oil price is flat, the market is still difficult to breathe a sigh of relief. Tom Essaye, founder of Sevens Report Research, said that until the conflict between Russia and Ukraine begins to ease and sanctions on Russia are expected to be lifted, the supply affected by geopolitics is still the biggest factor affecting oil prices. The market will continue to be affected.
