US stock markets on the up
Balance sheet season makes investors optimistic
04/19/2022, 10:55 p.m
In view of the robust figures in the reporting season that has just started, confidence in a strong US economy is growing on the New York stock market. Concerns about a rapid tightening of domestic monetary policy are not clouding the good mood.
Hopes for further strong quarterly figures from US companies gave Wall Street a boost on Tuesday. The US Standard Value Index Dow Jones closed 1.5 percent higher at 34,911 points. The broad one S&P 500 increased 1.7 percent to 4462 points, the technology-heavy Nasdaq climbed 2.2 percent to 13,619 jobs.
Thomas Hayes of Great Hill Capital said many investors went into this reporting season overly pessimistic. However, the fears did not materialize. So far, the 49 companies from the S&P 500 that have already presented quarterly figures have exceeded analysts’ expectations more often than average: almost 80 percent of these companies reported higher profits than predicted. The value is usually 66 percent.
In early trading, US Federal Reserve Banker James Bullard’s renewed plea for sharp interest rate hikes dampened investors’ buying mood. Bullard advocated a key US rate hike to 3.5 percent by the end of the year, not entirely ruling out a 0.75 percentage point move at the Fed’s May meeting along the way. Lockdowns in China and the war in Ukraine are additional factors of uncertainty, said analyst Salah-Eddine Bouhmidi from brokerage house IG.
Oil price under pressure
Against this background, investors threw US government bonds out of their portfolios. This drove the return on the ten-year US bonds high. The world’s leading currency, on the other hand, was in demand, which is why the dollar indexwhich tracks the rate against major currencies, rose as much as 0.2 percent to a two-year high of 101.02 points.
At the same time, the global upswing is losing momentum. Under the impact of the Ukraine war, the World Bank cut its forecast for global economic growth in 2022 to 3.2 percent on Monday. “This is expected to be the first of many cuts later this year,” said Michael Brown, manager at financial services firm Caxton. These prospects also put that oil price to. The US variety WTI fell 5.3 percent to $102.53 per barrel (159 liters). In the past few days, the price had increased significantly due to concerns about possible supply bottlenecks. According to the EU, it is working on a European embargo on Russian oil supplies.
papers from Johnson&Johnson increased by 3.1 percent. The consumer goods and pharmaceutical company posted a decline in sales and profits in the quarter and dropped the sales forecast for its coronavirus vaccine due to dwindling US demand. But the company remains a safe bet in the healthcare industry and an increase in the dividend will continue to bring investors predictable returns, a trader said.
Hasbro increased by 5.2 percent. The “Monopoly” maker has raised its profit target for the full year.