“Fed is acting macho”
Powell’s silence unsettles Wall Street
November 8, 2023, 11:09 p.m
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US investors are waiting with bated breath for a comment from the Fed chief, for example that easing monetary policy is out of the question. But when Powell remained silent, it caused nervousness on Wall Street.
The guesswork surrounding the US Federal Reserve’s further monetary policy course unsettled Wall Street in the middle of the week. The Dow Jones Index lost 0.1 percent to 34,112 points. The broader one S&P 500 however, rose by 0.1 percent to 4382, as did the technology exchange Nasdaq to 13,650 positions. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s lack of comment on monetary policy at a conference greeting made investors nervous. They had wondered whether Powell would join other Fed officials in speaking out against easing monetary policy or even hold out the prospect of further interest rate hikes.
Experts appeared calm. “The market is right that interest rates have peaked,” said Rhys Williams, chief strategist at asset manager Sprouting Rock. However, since the central bankers have “been acting macho with high interest rates for a long time,” an interest rate cut is unlikely in the near future.
Sell-off in the oil market continues
The sale on Oil market meanwhile continued. North Sea oil of the variety Brent and US light oil WTI Prices fell by around 2.2 percent to $79.80 and $75.61 respectively per barrel (159 liters). Investors are clearly no longer focused on undersupply, but on weak demand from China and the US, said Craig Erlam, analyst at trading house Oanda. “The frequent indications that Saudi Arabia and Russia will maintain their production cuts until the end of the year do not help to compensate for this, as it was never assumed that they would change their minds.” However, the announcement of an extension of the production cutback could push prices up again.
There was also pressure gold with a price decline of almost one percent to 1949 dollars per troy ounce. “The rally following the start of the war between Israel and Hamas is running out of steam,” said Phillip Streible, chief strategist at broker Blue Line Futures in Chicago. However, a further escalation of the conflict would give the yellow metal a boost.
Gloomy forecast weighs on Warner Bros
The individual values continued with the reactions to group balance sheets and forecasts. So broke Warner Bros Discovery by almost a fifth. The rival’s stock Paramount Global lost 7.9 percent in their wake. Thanks to the box office hit “Barbie,” Warner Bros has been able to cope with the burden of the work stoppage by actors and screenwriters in the USA. However, CEO David Zaslav expects the strikes and a weak advertising market to affect the company’s profits well into next year.
They also flew out of the depots Lucid Group. The electric car manufacturer’s shares slipped by 8.1 percent. The company is lowering its full-year production forecast “to cautiously align with deliveries.” Ebay According to figures, they lost around two percent. On Tuesday evening, the online retailer announced a sales outlook for the current quarter that was below analyst expectations.
However, they were very popular Under Armour with an increase of 2.9 percent. The US sports equipment manufacturer has its costs under control and is benefiting from falling freight and raw material costs. The shares of the video game company were also in demand Take Two Interactive software, which increased by 5.2 percent. Investors are speculating on news about the sixth installment of its popular video game series Grand Theft Auto (GTA). The daughter Rockstar Games wants to make an announcement about GTA VI this week, the Bloomberg agency reported, citing insiders. Eli Lilly rose by 3.2 percent. As expected, the US FDA approved the company’s weight loss injection, paving the way for even higher demand.