Tuesday, May 18, 2021
Fear of inflation remains an issue
Further discounts on Wall Street
Wall Street is going out of trading with losses again – concerns about a tighter monetary policy are still hanging over the exchange rates. However, there is good news too: that includes the better-than-expected numbers from Home Depot and Walmart. Gold investors can also be satisfied.
The US stock exchanges closed again in the red after the discounts at the beginning of the week. The technology-heavy Nasdaq index was able to record moderate premiums at first, but did not hold them in late trading. The concern of tightening the Monetary policy by the US Federal Reserve against the backdrop of an upward trend inflation further burdened. Added to this were those that were weaker than expected Data from the construction sector. The sentiment, on the other hand, was supported by surprisingly good numbers from Home Depot and Walmart.
The Dow Jones Index closed 0.8 percent lighter at 34,061 points, the S&P 500 gave way by 0.9 percent. For the Nasdaq Composite it was down 0.6 percent.
While Technology stocks have suffered the most from rising inflation worries, some analysts see the recent decline as an opportunity to get in. “Within the tech industry, there are still some companies that look very cheap,” said Jane Shoemake, client portfolio manager at Janus Henderson Investors. “If you believe in the longer-term trends these companies support, buy.”
On the economic side, they stood Construction starts and permits on the agenda for April. The number of housing starts fell significantly more than expected compared to the previous month. The increase in building permits compared to the previous month also fell short of analysts’ expectations. The USPurchasing manager expect the economic recovery to continue for the remainder of 2021, according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) in its semi-annual economic outlook.
Home Depot and Walmart exceed expectations
Among the individual values were the better-than-expected numbers from Home Depot and Walmart in focus, which were released before the starting bell. The US DIY chain benefited from the strong demand for home improvement supplies in the first quarter of the financial year. The group increased sales and profits more strongly than expected. However, the share fell 1.0 percent, which is likely to be due to profit-taking.
The US retailer Walmart (plus 2.2 percent) also significantly exceeded the analysts’ forecasts for sales and profits. CEO Doug McMillon spoke of a strong quarter, with every sector doing well. “Our optimism is greater than at the beginning of the year,” he added. Also Macy’s convinced with the quarterly figures. In addition, the sales outlook for 2021 has been raised. However, the titles gave way to 0.4 percent. Here, too, participants referred to the prizes they had earned.
For the Amazon-Share was down 1.2 percent. The group is reportedly in talks about a possible takeover of MGM, the last major independent Hollywood studio. AT&T lost 5.8 percent after the share had to take discounts the day before. The telecommunications company and the media company Discovery (minus 1.6 percent) want to pool their media assets in a new listed company.
Wells Fargo lost 2.1 percent. According to a mandatory announcement, Berkshire Hathaway further reduced its stake in the course of the first quarter and has thus almost completely withdrawn.
Dollar still under pressure
The Dollar index gave way by 0.4 percent and the Euro At a peak of $ 1.2234 it was as expensive as it was last in early January. The greenback completely gave up the gains from the previous week, when high inflation figures led to increased speculation about a soon tighter monetary policy by the US Federal Reserve.
The Oil prices gave in a little. Participants pointed to speculation that a possible nuclear deal would allow Iran to export oil again soon, which would increase oil supply. After the close of trading, data on US crude oil inventories are expected from the private American Petroleum Institute (API).
The Gold price traded a little stronger with the weaker dollar. To the Bond markets the yield on 10-year US securities fell moderately.
.