(Boursier.com) – The US quotation rose on Monday, the DJIA gaining 0.21% to 36,412 pts and the S&P 500 0.29% to 4,780 pts, against a gain of 0.8% on the Nasdaq to 15,770 pts. You’re here soaring after the announcement of record deliveries. A barrel of WTI crude is up 0.6% over the Nymex at $ 75.6. An ounce of gold consolidates 1.4% at $ 1,802. The dollar index rose 0.3% against a basket of currencies. Bitcoin stabilizes at around $ 47,000.
On the economic front, operators took note this morning of contrasting but expanding European manufacturing PMI indicators.
The final US manufacturing PMI for the month of December stood at 57.7, against a consensus of 57.8 and a flash reading also lodged at 57.8. It still signals a sharp expansion in domestic manufacturing activity.
According to the government report of the day, construction spending in the United States for the month of November 2021 appreciated by 0.4% compared to the previous month, against 0.6% of consensus place and 0.4 % for the revised reading of the previous month. On a year-over-year basis, these construction spending climbed 9.3%.
The US rating consolidated marginally on Friday, for its last session of the year. The DJIA returned 0.16% to 36.338 pts and the S&P 500 lost 0.26% to 4.766 pts. The two indices remain very close to their peaks. The Nasdaq fell 0.61% to 15.645 pts.
Operators remain confident in the economic outlook for 2022, despite the expected slight tightening of monetary policies in a context of heavy inflation. The surge in covid cases globally does not appear to be a major disruption to investors, who are banking on a short-term impact without new generalized containment, with the help of new treatments and vaccines. According to the latest developments, Omicron appears to be very contagious but less virulent than the other strains, in particular the Delta variant.
Over the year 2021, the S&P 500 gained 27%, the DJIA nearly 19% and the Nasdaq more than 21%.
The markets remain fairly calm today. Worsening trends on the health front remain the main risk, as the spread of Omicron in the United States continues to lead to thousands of flight cancellations and forces some businesses and schools to consider temporary shutdowns. CNBC also notes that several major Wall Street banks asked their employees to work from home during the first weeks of January. Finally, American retailers are forced to close for lack of available workers.
Dr Anthony Fauci told ABC (‘This Week’) on Sunday that U.S. health officials may soon update the guidelines to include a testing recommendation to signal when a person who has already tested positive for Covid could leave isolation. Fauci believes the US should focus less on increasing Covid cases and more on hospitalizations and deaths, which have seen much smaller increases.
In the UK, ministers have reportedly said there is “nothing” in the data to support further restrictions due to Covid-19, as scientists have suggested infections may peak before further measures can have an impact. Reports over the weekend across Europe all pointed to spikes in infections.
In Asia, trading in shares and structured products of China Evergrande Group was halted in Hong Kong. Attention was also drawn to a number of SMEs from Asia and Europe. Notably, South Korea’s PMI showed stronger but slowing export orders, while Taiwan’s showed manufacturing activity had picked up steam. Eurozone manufacturing growth remained strong in December, as supply problems eased.
In the oil markets, OPEC + is expected to make another 400K barrels per day increase in monthly production this week. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its major allies are debating their production strategy tomorrow. In a technical report that Reuters was able to consult yesterday, OPEC + relativizes the impact of the Omicron variant on aggregate demand by describing it as “moderate and short-lived” while maintaining its economic outlook unchanged.
Values
You’re here (+ 10%!) Posted an impressive performance in the last quarter of the year 2021. In the fourth quarter, Elon Musk’s group achieved production of over 305,000 vehicles and deliveries of over 308,000 vehicles. The Model 3 and Y represent 292,731 units produced and 296,850 vehicles delivered. The Model S and X account for 13,109 units produced and 11,750 deliveries. In 2021, the group delivered more than 936,000 vehicles, 936,172 to be precise, and produced 930,422 units. “Thank you to all our customers, employees, suppliers, shareholders and supporters who helped us have a great year,” comments the group now based in Austin, Texas.
You’re here recorded, despite shortages, historic quarterly deliveries that clearly exceeded market expectations. The manufacturer has stepped up production in China despite the global shortage of semiconductors. Quarterly deliveries, at 308,600 vehicles, should be compared with a consensus of around 263,000 vehicles. Tesla thus aligns its sixth consecutive quarter of record deliveries. Quarterly shipments jump about 70% year-on-year and nearly 30% from the third quarter of 2021. Tesla has ramped up Chinese production, despite regulatory pressure and the global chip shortage. Over the year, deliveries rose 87% to 936,172 units.
Pfizer (-3%) consolidates on its historic highs, after having climbed last year of 60%. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said yesterday that people over 60 and medical staff will receive a second Covid-19 booster dose in the face of the upsurge in contamination with the Omicron variant. The increase in the number of cases could lead Israel to collective immunity, said the director general of the Ministry of Health. In Israel, the spread of the variant was initially limited, but is now accelerating and could reach a high in three weeks. Health Director General Nachman Ash believes this could lead the country to herd immunity, but adds that he prefers to achieve it through large-scale vaccination.
In addition, let us note that Belgium will buy from the Americans Pfizer and Merck 10,000 doses of their respective covid antiviral treatments.
AT&T (+ 3%) and Verizon (+ 1%), two US telecommunications giants, yesterday rejected a further two-week postponement of the deployment in the United States of their services scheduled for January 5, in the C-band of 5G, while the sector of the aviation fears disturbances linked to the use of this new frequency band. The Federal Aviation Administration, the US government agency responsible for controlling civil aviation, requested this postponement. Telecom operators have instead offered not to deploy 5G services around airports for six months and to limit deployments in the coming week.
American Airlines (+ 5%), Delta Air (+ 4%), United Air (+ 5%) or Southwest (+ 2%) will be monitored. More than 4,000 flights were canceled around the world on Sunday, more than half of them in the United States, due to the increase in Covid-19 cases and bad weather conditions. According to data from flight tracking site FlightAware.com, the canceled flights included more than 2,400 flights departing from or within the United States. Globally, more than 11,200 flights have been delayed.
Robinhood (+ 4%) is gaining ground on Wall Street, following the acquisition of around $ 10 million in shares (563,570 shares) by ARK Invest, Cathie Wood’s investment firm well known for its daring bets.