Global Markets Lack Conviction: Mixed Corporate Results and Pending US GDP Figures

2023-04-27 14:56:04

(Photo: Getty Images)

MARKET REVIEWS. Global markets lack conviction on Thursday, after declines since the start of the week on the back of mixed corporate results and pending US GDP figures.

Stock market indices at 7:45 a.m.

The futures contracts Dow Jones rose by 137.00 points (+0.41%) to 33,561.00 points. The futures contracts S&P 500 increased by 22.75 points (+0.56%) to 4,098.75 points. The futures contracts Nasdaq rose 115.25 points (+0.89%) to 13,003.00 points.

In London, the FTSE 100 decreased by 6.58 points (-0.08%) to 7,846.06 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 rose by 24.37 points (+0.33%) to 7,491.03 points. In Frankfurt, the DAX rose by 12.31 points (+0.08%) to 15,808.04 points.

In Asia, the Nikkei Tokyo advanced 41.21 points (+0.15%) to 28,457.68 points. For his part, the Hang Seng Hong Kong closed up 83.01 points (+0.42%) to 19,840.28 points.

On the oil side, the price per barrel of American WTI rose by US$0.37 (+0.50%) to US$74.67. The barrel of North Sea Brent rose by US$0.34 (+0.44%) to US$78.06.

The context

For Pierre Veyrey, an analyst at ActivTrades, the markets are taking advantage of the “positive corporate earnings” elements to interrupt the downward trend observed over the past two sessions.

After the US close, Meta reported a 24% drop in first-quarter net profit and a slight 3% rise in revenue, better-than-expected results by analysts that boosted its stock by 11 .5% in electronic trading prior to the opening of the New York Stock Exchange.

David Older, director of equity management at Carmignac, stressed at a conference that “it is clear that in the event of a recession, if it occurs, these companies (the technological giants, editor’s note) have the resources to ensure their margins”.

Other results better than analysts’ forecasts published by European companies are struggling to support investor sentiment on Thursday.

On the macro front, weekly jobless claims and first-quarter GDP growth figures will give investors further insight into the health of the US economy on Thursday, ahead of the PCE inflation index due on Friday.

According to John Plassard, investment specialist at Mirabaud, the consensus of analysts polled by Bloomberg expects US GDP growth of 2% in the first quarter. “If this marks a deceleration compared to the last quarter of 2022 (+2.6%), we are still far from recession. The latter could nevertheless materialize at the end of the year, ”he warns.

Investors are also scrutinizing the evolution of the situation of American regional banks, after two sessions of sharp decline in the action of First Republic, and trying to estimate the possible impact on the monetary policy of the American Central Bank (Fed) .

The banks do their accounts

The British bank Barclays rose 3.78% in London after announcing a profit up 27% in the first quarter.

The net profit of Deutsche Bank increased by 8% over one year. The first German bank has announced new measures to reduce its costs. Its action gained 1.35% in Frankfurt.

The Spanish bank BBVA posted a sharp rise in profit in the first quarter thanks to the rise in interest rates and rose by 2.30% in Madrid.

Lagging Semiconductors

Shares of semiconductor makers fell victim to profit-taking on Thursday, after rising strongly in late March on the back of better-than-expected results from Infineon.

STMicroelectronics fell by 7.09% in Paris after recording in the first quarter of 2023 a turnover up by 19.8%. Soitec lost 12.3%, after quarterly results in line with expectations and the announcement of the departure of the company’s deputy general manager.

In Frankfurt, Infineon fell 2.65% in Frankfurt.

On the currency and commodities market

Oil prices changed little. The barrel of Brent de more du Nord was worth US$77.69 (+0.03%). That of American WTI climbed 0.24% to US$74.46.

TotalEnergies (-2.21% in Paris) and Repsol (-3.17% in Madrid) were down after their quarterly results, and are dragging down the entire oil sector, like d’ENI (-2.10% in Milan) and BP (-1.65% in London). RWE (+2.40%) for its part saw its operating profit jump by 35%.

In the currency market, the yen weakened slightly to 133.72 yen per US dollar. The euro was at US$1.1041 per euro.

The bitcoin gained 2.06% to $29,000.

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