Sherif Adel (Washington)
With increasing fears that the American economy will enter a recession, American stocks fell in the last trading days of the week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing more than four hundred points, and the Nasdaq index hitting its lowest levels in 2022.
After a grueling week, packed with news regarding the US economy, from the Producer Price Index to the Consumer Price Index, both of which showed inflation stabilizing near its highest levels in more than forty years, the way seemed clear for the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates at high levels for some time. .
During trading, yesterday, Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 1.34%, and the S&P index lost 2.37% of its value, while the losses in the Nasdaq index, which is most affected by interest rates, exceeded 3%. Despite Friday’s declines, the major indices managed to post small weekly gains.
In a virtual press conference, Jamie Dimon, president of JPMorgan, America’s largest bank by assets, said, “Investors should expect more (explosions) following the shock of British government bonds last month, which almost caused the collapse of hundreds of banks.” pension funds in the country.
With the growing fears of a recession, and the International Energy Agency expected a slowdown in oil demand during the last quarter of this year, black gold prices fell before the weekend, following several days of rising.
Before the closing, the price of Brent crude oil decreased by 3.11%, to reach $91.63 a barrel, while the price of US West Texas crude decreased by 3.93%, recording $85.61 a barrel.
In a related context, gold witnessed selling pressure with renewed fears of the Fed’s tightening in the coming weeks, to end the precious metal week at a price less than ninety dollars from the highest price recorded during the month of October.
During trading on Friday, the price of gold fell below the level of $1650 an ounce, following losing 1.74% of its value.
On the OANDA website, which specializes in market analysis, Edward Moya, chief market analyst at the site, wrote, “The matter is getting more and more dangerous for gold, especially with the rise of the dollar,” explaining that what makes it very difficult is “to see the Japanese yen at levels lower than its price at the time of the crisis.” Asian currency, while the pound sterling suffers from financial stability risks in his country.
Bond yield
Yesterday, Friday, the yield on US 10-year Treasury bonds rose, exceeding 4% once more, while the US dollar remained near its highest level in twenty years, benefiting from the shift in investor expectations towards more tightening, rather than reaching the pivotal point in which it changes The world’s largest central bank directs it.