Market Reviews: World Stock Markets, Central Bank Meetings, and Economic Indicators

2023-07-24 11:42:52

(Photo: The Canadian Press)

MARKET REVIEWS. World stock markets do not show a clear trend on Monday, cautious before a wave of results and central bank meetings, while the latest economic indicators are causing European bond rates to react.

Stock market indices at 7:30 a.m.

The futures contracts Dow Jones rose by +42.00 points (+0.12%) to 35,440.00 points. The futures contracts S&P 500 increased by +9.25 points (+0.20%) to 4,574.00 points. The futures contracts Nasdaq gained +40.25 points (+0.26%) to 15,580.25 points.

In London, the FTSE 100 fell -10.34 points (-0.13%) to 7,653.39 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 yielded -30.35 points (-0.41%) to 7,402.42 points. In Frankfurt, the DAX increased by +4.65 points (+0.03%) to 16,181.87 points.

In Asia, the Nikkei Tokyo gained +396.69 points (+1.23%) to 32,700.94 points. For his part, the Hang Seng Hong Kong closed down -407.11 points (-2.13%) at 18,668.15 points.

On the oil side, the price per barrel of American WTI rose +0.47$US (+0.61%) to 77.54$US. The barrel of North Sea Brent was up +0.48$ (+0.59%) to 81.55$.

The context

The European economy remains weighed down by the poor health of the industrial sector and a fall in demand which reflect a sluggish economic situation, particularly in France, where private sector activity recorded its sharpest decline in two and a half years.

In response, the euro lost 0.30% to 1.1091 dollars and sovereign interest rates fell on the bond market. The yield on German ten-year debt was worth 2.40% once morest 2.46% on Friday.

These figures are fueling investor speculation around the evolution of the monetary policy of the European Central Bank (ECB), which meets on Thursday. The rate hikes made over the past year are going increasingly badly with certain fragile European economies.

The ECB is expected to raise key rates by 0.25 percentage point, economists say, but nothing seems certain regarding subsequent meetings.

“The number of increases will then be calibrated on the evolution of core inflation (also called underlying, which excludes energy and food prices, editor’s note), on which there is currently no reassuring element”, anticipates Franck Dixmier, global director of bond management at Allianz Global Investors.

The US Federal Reserve (Fed) and the Bank of Japan (BoJ) are also meeting this week. A Fed rate hike of 0.25 percentage point is widely expected by investors, while the BoJ is unlikely to deviate from its ultra-accommodative monetary policy, economists say.

While some economists believe the Fed will make the final rate hike of its monetary tightening cycle this week, Swissquote Bank analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya warns that “the resilience of the US labor market and household consumption should prompt the Fed to remain cautious and not announce the end of the tightening cycle on Wednesday.”

In China, the Shanghai Stock Exchange fell 0.11% and Hong Kong fell 2.13%, amid concerns regarding Chinese growth and as hopes of a massive stimulus plan from Beijing fade away.

Julius Baer and SGS delight

The Swiss Wealth Management Bank Julius Baer, considered one of the potential beneficiaries of the debacle of Credit Suisse, saw its fresh money inflows jump in the first half. The action rose 7% in Zurich.

Also on the Swiss stock exchange, the Swiss group SGSwhich specializes in product inspection and certification, rose 3.96% following raising its growth target for 2023.

Ocado buries a dispute

The British online food retailer Ocado rose 10.36% in London following announcing the settlement of a legal dispute with the Norwegian specialist in robotics for warehouses AutoStore.

Philips breathes once more

Philips reported higher net profit in the second quarter, following the case of faulty sleep apnea breathing machines plunged the Dutch group into the red and led to the loss of thousands of jobs.

Analysts, however, are concerned regarding the slowdown in orders (-8%), the title lost 5.01% in Amsterdam.

On the side of oil and bitcoin

Oil prices were still rising, with the US benchmark even hitting a high since late April

The barrel of North Sea Brentfor September delivery, gained 0.60% to $81.56.

Its American equivalent, the barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) took 0.61% to 77.53 dollars.

The bitcoin fell 2.80% to $29,300.

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