Global Markets Remain Uncertain amidst Interest Rates and Growth Concerns

2023-06-26 17:23:56

London and Frankfurt ended down 0.11%, while Paris gained 0.29% and Milan 0.12%. In Zurich, the SMI fell by 0.71%.

Global markets failed to rebound on Monday after a sluggish week, still preoccupied with interest rates and bleak growth prospects.

Wall Street opened mixed, then tipped into the red: the Dow Jones lost 0.03%, the S&P 500 fell 0.07% and the Nasdaq lost 0.27% around 3:50 p.m. GMT.

In Europe, London and Frankfurt ended down 0.11%, while Paris gained 0.29% and Milan 0.12%. In Zurich, the SMI lost 0.71%.

Between a less dynamic activity indicator and more aggressive central bankers’ speeches, the markets are caught in a “scissors effect”, observed Alexandre Baradez, analyst at IG France.

The only indicator expected on Monday, the IFO barometer of the morale of entrepreneurs in Germany in June, continued to fall, illustrating the recession that is taking hold in Europe’s largest economy.

“There are signs that central bank action is finally cooling the economy in Europe, while activity has also slowed in the United States, but less dramatically,” recalls Art Hogan of B. Riley WealthManagement.

Investors also continue to remember the decisions and comments of central banks around the world over the past fortnight.

US Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell warned last week that further rate hikes were expected this year to try to contain inflation, while several other central banks in Europe surprised the markets with more aggressive monetary tightening than expected.

The European Central Bank (ECB) kicked off its annual High Inflation-Proof Economic Stability Forum on Monday, which will run until Wednesday in Sintra, Portugal.

On the bond market, yields on 10-year government bonds, the benchmark maturity, were down slightly in Europe and the United States.

Aston Martin and Lucid help each other

British luxury carmaker Aston Martin on Monday announced “a strategic supply agreement” with U.S.-Saudi electric vehicle maker Lucid to create “ultra-luxury, high-performance electric vehicles,” according to a statement.

The announcement made the title of Aston Martin soar, which climbed 10.70% but also that of Lucid (+8.78% on Wall Street).

Pfizer releases treatment

The Pfizer laboratory fell by 4.48% when the group announced the cessation of the development of an experimental drug against obesity, Lotiglipron, which seems to have a bad effect on the liver.

The vaccine manufacturer Moderna climbed 2.18%, benefiting from a better appreciation of the group’s valuation potential by the bank UBS.

Cineworld draws the curtain for its shareholders

The bankrupt British cinema group Cineworld fell by 17.95%, after announcing an upcoming placement in receivership in the United Kingdom of its parent company, whose assets will be transferred to its creditors.

Rise in oil, euro and bitcoin

Oil prices were up slightly, the gains caused by the mutiny of the paramilitary group Wagner in Russia remaining reduced by a sluggish economic context, unfavorable to global demand.

Around 3:30 p.m. GMT, a barrel of Brent from the North Sea, for delivery in August, rose 0.27% to 74.05 dollars.

Its American equivalent, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), for delivery the same month, took 0.14% to 69.26 dollars.

The euro gleaned 0.19% to 1.0915 dollars.

Bitcoin advanced 0.22% to $30,450.

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