(Photo: Getty Images)
MARKET REVIEW. Global stock markets were down on Friday, in the wake of Wall Street worried regarding an upcoming monetary tightening in the United States.
European markets were all down by midday.
Markets are moving cautiously in the face of uncertainty in US markets. The Dow Jones, which closed lower Thursday for the fifth session in a row, is expected to fall once more.
Stock indices at 7:58 a.m.
In the United States, futures contracts Dow Jones fell by 103.00 points (-0.30%) to 34,513.00 points. The futures contracts S&P 500 lost 24.50 points (-0.55%) to 4,450.25 points. The futures contracts Nasdaq fell 134.00 points (-0.90%) to 14,707.00 points.
In Europe, the results were in the red. In London, the FTSE 100 fell 83.81 points (-1.10%) to 7,501.20 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 dropped 119.57 points (-1.66%) to 7,074.59 points. In Frankfurt, the DAX fell 304.71 points (-1.91%) to 15,607.62 points.
In Asia, the Nikkei Tokyo lost 250.67 points (-0.90%) to 27,522.26 points. For his part, the Hang Seng Hong Kong ended up slightly up 13.20 points (+0.05%) to 24,965.55 points.
On the oil side, the price per barrel of WTI American was down US$1.33 (-1.55%) at US$84.22. The barrel of Brent de la mer du Nord was down US$1.24 (-1.40%) at US$87.14.
The context
Investors fear a hike in key rates from the US Federal Reserve (Fed) starting in March to counter inflation. Some analysts predict a 0.50 basis point rise in these rates, double the forecast at the start of the year.
The Fed is holding its monetary policy committee meeting in the middle of next week.
Technology stocks were particularly affected by this concern: the Nasdaq index, with a high concentration of technology, which lost 1.15% on Thursday, is expected at -0.94%.
Added to this were worse than expected results for Netflix, which lost nearly 20% in pre-session electronic exchanges.
“Rising interest rates, then even lower growth expectations – Netflix stock losses might be symptomatic of what awaits the stock market in the weeks and months to come,” said Jochen Stanzl, analyst at CMC Markets.
In Asia, the Tokyo Stock Exchange lost 0.9% on Friday following the entry into force of new health restrictions once morest the Omicron variant. Compared to its peak in mid-September, it has now fallen by more than 10%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index ended slightly up 0.05%.
Bond rates fell back following their rise at the start of the year. The US 10-year yield was at 1.79%, far from the peak of 1.89% reached during the week.
The oil market fell sharply. Prices had risen above seven-year highs by midweek.
“Oil prices fell back on Friday following a meteoric rise since the beginning of the year, following the surprise increase in American inventories,” Han Tan, an analyst at Exinity, told AFP.
ArcelorMittal lost 4.60% to 29.69 euros, while Aperam dropped 3.24% to 53.84 euros, in the wake of oil prices.
In London, Anglo American and Rio Tinto fell 2.67% to 3,430.50 pence and 2.46% to 5,443 pence respectively.
The title of the automotive giant Toyota dropped 2.47% to 2,284.5 yen in Tokyo. The Japanese manufacturer announced Thursday new interruptions in its production because of a growing number of cases of COVID-19 which affect its subcontractors and its operations in Japan.
In Paris too, the automobile retreated on Friday, like Stellantis, which lost 3.86% to 18.06 euros. Renault lost 2.29% to 33.08 euros, while equipment manufacturers Plastic Omnium and Faurecia fell 3.01% to 21.90 euros and 3.09% to 41.43 euros.
The turbine manufacturer Siemens Energy collapsed 12.90% to 19.97 euros. It announced on Thursday evening a drop in its forecasts for the year 2022, mainly due to its wind power subsidiary Siemens Gamesa, which downgraded its outlook. The title of the latter is also down 9.39% in Madrid.
The wind turbine manufacturer Nordex is also neglected and lost 7.11% to 13.60 euros.
The euro rose 0.18% to 1.1331 US dollar by midday, while the bitcoin fell 6.74% to US$38,546 at 7:10 a.m. Quebec time.
It finds levels more seen since August, in the wake of the streaming platform Netflix.
