Wednesday October 13, 2021
Tech sector up
Concerns about inflation are slowing US stock exchanges
Inflation rises and rises – and makes investors nervous. Asset managers are already starting to think about stimulus measures. However, the situation is different with rising gas prices: while the high energy prices are causing a lot of stress for consumers, the analysts are not so pessimistic.
An accelerated rise in inflation in the US dampened sentiment on Wall Street on Wednesday. Of the Dow Jones Index closed almost unchanged at 34,378 points, the S&P 500 gained 0.3 percent. The technology-heavy one Nasdaq Composite quoted 0.7 percent stronger.
The eagerly anticipated consumer prices were 5.4 percent, slightly higher than the expected 5.3 percent. Given the current main theme of inflation, they attracted increased investor interest. According to Helaba’s market strategists, the inflation data do not provide the US monetary authorities with any reason to abandon their planned throttling of bond purchases. The yield on ten-year paper was listed 3.1 basis points lower at 1.54 percent.
At their council meeting in September, the US Federal Reserve examined plans to reduce the bond purchase program this year. According to the minutes published on Wednesday, the bond purchases could possibly be stopped completely by the middle of next year.
In the past few days, fears of inflation had weighed on sentiment in the stock markets, fueled by rising energy prices and persistent bottlenecks in the supply chains. It is still unclear whether and how this will affect the monetary policy of the central banks.
The focus was also on the reporting season for the third quarter, which started on Wednesday. Here investors hope to find out whether the higher costs for energy and raw materials have reduced the results. Made the start JP Morgan, Blackrock and Delta Air Lines, on the remaining days of the week other major banks and other companies follow.
Oil prices barely changed – dollars under pressure
Oil prices were slightly lower at a high level. According to reports, nuclear talks with Iran could possibly resume this week. Should an agreement be reached here, more Iranian oil should come onto the market and depress prices. The eyes were also directed to the weekly crude oil storage data of the private American Petroleum Institute, which was only published late in the evening (CEST).
Equities from the energy sector were also weaker. Exxon Mobil fell 0.7 percent. Schlumberger, Hess, Devon, APA and Diamondback Energy were among the biggest losers in the industry. Investors in the oil market were worried about the economy, although oil prices were able to break away from their interim lows. The North Sea variety Brent was quoted just under minus at $ 83.39 a barrel.
The dollar came under pressure after its recent soaring. The DXY dollar index was down 0.5 percent. However, participants saw this only as an interruption in the upward trend, which is supported by the expectation of a tighter monetary policy. The price of gold rose with the weaker dollar and lower bond yields, which make the non-interest-bearing precious metal more attractive.
Apple shares easier with reduced production – Blackrock with price jump
For the Apple stock it went down 0.4 percent. According to a media report, the technology group has to lower its production target for the iPhone 13 due to the global shortage of chips. According to another report, Apple is examining the potential of the AirPods as a health device, for example for applications to improve hearing or to measure body temperature. Qualcomm shares, on the other hand, rose 1.7 percent. The semiconductor manufacturer has announced a $ 10 billion share buyback program.
Blackrock’s titles gained 3.8 percent. The asset manager increased its profit in the third quarter much more clearly than expected by observers. Average assets under management grew 24.8 percent to $ 9.58 trillion.
JP Morgan has clearly beaten the profit expectations. However, this is not entirely surprising given the good trading environment in the markets, it is said. What is striking is the strong increase in assets under management, which jumped 17 percent. The share fell 2.6 percent, however, it has gained over 30 percent in value since the beginning of the year, which stimulated profit-taking. Bank stocks were also negatively impacted by the fall in market interest rates.
Delta Air Lines buckled by 5.8 percent. The airline has warned of burdens due to increased fuel prices.