(Boursier.com) – Wall Street, which finally ended last night up slightly after two days of purging, is still expected to be in the green before the stock market this Friday. The S&P 500 gained 0.2%, the Dow Jones 0.3% and the Nasdaq 0.2% in pre-session. A barrel of WTI crude advanced 1% to $97. An ounce of gold fell 0.3% to $1,931. The dollar index climbed 0.2% against a basket of currencies. Bitcoin remains at $43,000.
There will be no significant economic statistics across the Atlantic this Friday. Traders will follow just at 4 p.m. wholesaler inventories for the month of February (FactSet consensus +1.8% compared to the previous month).
The focus is again and again on the policy of the US central bank and its implications for the markets. The March FOMC minutes show a growing willingness on the part of the Fed to raise rates in 50 basis point increments amid inflation concerns. Balance sheet reduction will most likely be on the menu for the next FOMC in May…
ECB minutes released on Thursday also showed heightened urgency to act on concerns about inflation expectations. Some are calling for a rate hike in September, while others see an increase in December.
Bond markets remain volatile as more and more parts of the Treasury curve invert and spark debate over recession signals. The 10-year T-Bond is trading at 2.682% today and the 30-year… at 2.676%!
Some also worry that the conflict in Ukraine could tip the euro zone into recession later this year. The US economy is also expected to slow rapidly next year.
This Russian-Ukrainian conflict is now focused on eastern Ukraine, as Russian forces turn to the eastern Donbass region. NATO has agreed to supply Ukraine with heavy weapons and more advanced systems. On Thursday, the EU agreed to ban imports of Russian coal. Discussions on potential oil and natural gas embargoes are likely to follow… European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen and EU Foreign Minister Josep Borrell arrived in Kyiv today to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Von der Leyen said she would particularly talk about Ukraine’s journey to Europe.
Bank of America indicated that the macroeconomic environment was rapidly deteriorating and could tip the US economy into recession on the back of monetary tightening. BofA strategists point out that the inflation shock is getting worse, as the rate shock kicks in and the “recession shock” arrives. That’s the view of the U.S. bank’s chief investment officer, Michael Hartnett, that cash, volatility, commodities and cryptocurrencies could outperform bonds and stocks… The Fed could starting next month to reduce its balance sheet, and plans to do so at twice the pace of the previous phase of quantitative tightening. Traders also expect the Fed to hike rates by half a point on May 4.
Jan Hatzius, chief economist of the New York investment bank Goldman Sachs, quoted by Bloomberg, specifies that the United States displays the greatest “overheating” of the job market since the 1950s! Hatzius says the fed funds rate could peak at more than 4% next year if financial conditions don’t tighten enough and the labor market also remains “hot”. Thus, the Fed could have to raise its rates significantly higher than currently expected, in order to calm this overheating of the American economy. “If the economy doesn’t slow down, and if we, in particular, don’t experience a very substantial slowdown in job growth, then you could be expecting something that goes significantly higher, over 4%,” launched the economist, interviewed by Bloomberg.
Elsewhere in the world, French electoral polls show a gap between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen now less than 5 points ahead of Sunday’s first round.
Meanwhile, the Covid outbreak in China is worsening, but its impact on markets is limited as it increases the likelihood of support measures.
It should also be noted that an industry survey showed that starting salaries in the UK were rising the fastest since 1997. Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s popularity has been hit due to his wife’s personal wealth and tax affairs. , when he had previously been criticized for raising taxes in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis.
Values
KKR is considering a June IPO of Japanese semiconductor manufacturing equipment designer Kokusai, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, with one saying the company could be valued at nearly $700 billion. yen, or $5.64 billion.
You’re here intends to design futuristic autonomous taxis, said Elon Musk, without providing a timetable. “Massive scale. Fully self-driving. There’s going to be a dedicated robo-taxi,” Musk said at the grand opening of his factory in Austin, Texas, home to his new headquarters. The CEO of Tesla had already specified several times his intention to launch autonomous vehicles, then robot-taxis.
Musk also announced yesterday Thursday that production of the Cybertruck electric pickup will start next year.
“Great job Team Tesla Texas!! We built and delivered the first Giga Texas production cars and had a killer opening party,” Musk summed up on Twitter.
Blackstone and Edizione, Atlantia’s largest shareholder, are expected to launch a takeover bid for the Italian infrastructure group at 24 euros per share around Easter, according to the daily Il Messaggero, citing banking sources.
Spirit Airlines will enter into negotiations with Jetblue Airways concerning its acquisition offer of 3.6 billion dollars, an offer superior to that of Frontier Group.
Biogen. The US government has announced that the Medicare program will limit the coverage of Aduhelm, the laboratory’s treatment for Alzheimer’s.
robinhood stalled before the stock market on Wall Street, while the firm Goldman Sachs has just downgraded the value of the online trading platform from ‘neutral’ to ‘sell’, evoking a weakening of customer engagement.
HPboosted yesterday on Wall Street by the rise in capital of Warren Buffett’s firm, Berkshire Hathaway, lost some ground today following a downgrade by UBS, which has just gone from ‘buy’ to ‘neutral’ on essential valuation criteria.