Weekly Review (February 7-11)
STOCKS
At the start of the week, Asian equity markets were mostly lower, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan losing 0.3%. Bucking the trend, China’s Shanghai Composite jumped 2% on the first trading session after the Lunar New Year break. Similarly, Wall Street markets closed were on the defensive initially as investors digested dismal quarterly results from Facebook owner Meta Platforms. The company’s stocks extended the decline after a 26% sell-off that caused a record plunge in its stock market value. Adding to investor concerns were fears of the Russia-Ukraine war and US-China trade tensions after US officials said that "patience wearing thin" in trade talks with China. Furthermore, the US Commerce Department announced restrictions on transactions with 33 Chinese organizations whose ownership is deemed to be “unverified”. Market sentiment had improved since then but was hurt ahead of the weekend after fresh economic data out of the United States showed consumer prices surged 7.5% last month on a year-over-year basis, exceeding estimates of 7.3%. Adding to a more downbeat tone, Fed’s Bullard said he now wanted a full percentage point of interest rate hikes by July 1. As such, the Dow Jones fell 1.47%, the S&P 500 shed 1.81%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.1% on Thursday.
11.02.2022
1147
Weekly Review (January 31-February 4)
STOCKS
Asian equity markets advanced at the start of the week despite weak economic data out of China and Japan. China's official manufacturing PMI slipped to 50.1 versus 50.3 in January, while Caixin PMI fell to 49.1 from 50.9. In Japan, retail sales, industrial production, consumer confidence, and housing starts data came in lower than expected. Australia’s ASX 200 climbed after the RBA said it ends the bond-buying program, as the central bank said the conditions for rate rises were not yet in place. In the US, stocks were also buoyed, and the recovery was spurred by dip buyers and mostly positive corporate earnings. On Thursday, however, Wall Street stocks tumbled overnight after a four-day rally after Meta Platforms reported disappointing quarterly results. The company’s shares plunged over 26% as its profit came in lower than expected in the fourth quarter. Furthermore, the Facebook parent revealed gloomy revenue guidance for the current quarter. As such, the Dow shed 1.45%. the S&P 500 lost 2.44%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 3.74%. Of note, the CBOE volatility index climbed from 2.5-week lows registered in the previous session.
04.02.2022
1156
Weekly Review (January 24-28)
STOCKS
Global equity markets came under pressure this week, as rising geopolitical tensions surrounding Ukraine coupled with the Fed policy weighed down stocks. The selling pressure intensified after NATO said it was reinforcing Eastern Europe with more ships and fighter jets in response to Russia's military build-up at Ukraine's borders. Chinese stocks posted their biggest daily drop since July last year while Japan's Nikkei 225 dipped to lowest level since December 2020. The selling pressure intensified after Jerome Powell signaled the Federal Reserve will steadily remove support for the economy as it battles the elevated inflation. The central bank chief said he backs a March liftoff and won’t rule out a hike every meeting. In its statement, the central bank signaled its first rate hike in four years will happen soon, while saying it expects a balance-sheet reduction to start afterward. On Thursday, Wall Street stocks finished lower after a volatile session. On the data front, the fourth-quarter gross domestic product jumped 6.9% versus 5.5% expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed nearly unchanged, the S&P 500 shed 0.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.4%.
28.01.2022
1211
Weekly Review (January 17-21)
STOCKS
Asian markets were mixed at the start of the week as investors digested the latest economic data from China. The Shanghai Composite climbed after the data showed that the country’s GDP grew 4% year-on-year and 1.6% quarter-on-quarter in the fourth quarter. On Tuesday, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell slightly after the Bank of Japan left its monetary policy settings unchanged as expected. Wall Street stocks plunged as 10-year Treasury yields hit fresh two-year highs amid the ongoing speculations surrounding the Federal Reserve that could raise interest rates more quickly and aggressively than expected. On the data front, first-time weekly unemployment filings were up last week, coming in near the 300,000 level, up from a 52-year low of 188,000 registered in December. On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.89%, the S&P 500 lost 1.10%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.3%. In Individual stocks, Netflix shares fell more than 20% after the bell, to the lowest levels since June 2020, after the company reported a slower subscriber growth and offered a weaker-than-expected forecast for early 2022.
21.01.2022
1141
Weekly Review (January 10-14)
STOCKS
Following a mostly negative start to the week, global stock markets erased early losses to turn positive nearly across the board. Wall Street stocks advanced as investors cheered Powell’s testimony to Congress on Tuesday. The Fed Governor offered a hint that he's in no rush to wind down the central bank’s balance sheet. On the data front, the highly-anticipated December US CPI report showed that the headline inflation rose 0.7% year-over-year from 6.8%, as expected. That was the highest reading since June 1982. At that, the monthly pace of price growth, as well as the core CPI, came in higher than expected, albeit rose at a slower pace as compared to the previous month’s figures. The market now puts the chances of the Fed raising short-term rates by at least 0.25% in March at around 75%. Against this backdrop, investor sentiment has deteriorated in the second part of the week, with wall Street seeing solid losses on Thursday as Federal Reserve officials continued to indicate faster-than-expected interest rate hikes. The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.5%, while the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones shed 1.4% and 0.5%, respectively.
14.01.2022
1210
Weekly Review (January 3-7)
STOCKS
Global equity markets start the year and the week on a mixed note as concerns over the Omicron variant continued to persist, capping gains in stocks. In the US, however, stocks posted fresh record highs on the first trading day of 2022 despite rising COVID-19 cases. The market was boosted by a rally in Tesla shares. The company’s stocks jumped 13.5% after the electric car maker reported strong quarterly deliveries that exceeded expectations. Meanwhile, Apple became the first company to hit a $3 trillion market capitalization. Its shares rose 3% to notch all-time highs before finishing 2.5% higher on Monday. However, markets came under pressure after the Fed minutes from December offered more details on the central bank’s shift towards a more hawkish monetary policy. The minutes suggested that the Fed could raise rates more than three times this year and the balance sheet normalization to start sooner after the first rate hike than last time. After a choppy session, Wall Street stocks finished lower on Thursday. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite both edged down 0.1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.5%.
07.01.2022
1221
Weekly Review (December 27-31)
STOCKS
Global stock markets started the last week of 2021 on a mixed note, with investors continuing to monitor developments in the virus front. Still, Wall Street stocks surged in thin post-Christmas trading on Monday despite rising COVID-19 cases across the country. It looks like investors do not expect Omicron to impact the growth outlook substantially. Following mixed trading, European stocks closed mostly lower Wednesday after France reported a record high of 179,807 new coronavirus cases while in the UK, infections were still topping 100,000. On Thursday, Wall Street stocks fell in thin trading conditions. Fresh data showed that jobless claims came in at 198,000 for the week ended December 25 versus 205,000 expected. Meanwhile, the Chicago PMI stood at 63.1 for December. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 dipped 0.3% each and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.2%. For the year, the S&P is up more than 27% and the Dow is up nearly 10%. The Nasdaq has gained 22%.
31.12.2021
1411
Weekly Review (December 20-24)
STOCKS Global equity markets started the week on a weaker footing amid a combination of worries about the spreading Omicron coronavirus variant and tighter monetary policy. Surging Omicron cases triggered tighter restrictions in several countries, threatening the global economic recovery. As such, the Netherlands went into lockdown, and other countries began to follow. However, risk sentiment improved soon, with US stocks posting solid gains after Biden said that federal lockdown recommendations aren't in the cards. Upbeat developments surrounding the Omicron coronavirus variant coupled with upbeat economic data pushed stocks higher ahead of Christmas. The US GDP grew 2.3% quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter, durable goods orders rose 2.5 versus 1.5% expected while personal income and spending both showed increases for last month. The S&P 500 gained 0.62% to notch a record-high close on Thursday while the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq added 0.55% and 0.85%, respectively. US equity and Treasury markets are closed on Friday for the holiday.
24.12.2021
1319
Weekly Review (December 13-17)
STOCKS
Global stock markets attempted to rebound at the start of the week but came back under pressure as virus-related worries resurfaced amid rising cases globally. The spread of the Omicron variant deterred buyers ahead of the key central bank meetings. As a result, Wall Street stocks slipped from all-time highs amid profit-taking, In Asia, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down after authorities detected the first Omicron case in mainland China. US equities extended losses as fresh inflation data showed a rise in producer prices to record highs. The PPI jumped 9.6% year-over-year in November versus 9.2% expected. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve left the federal funds target range unchanged at 0.0-0.25%, in line with expectations, while the pace of the taper of the bond-buying program will be doubled from mid-January to $30 billion per month. The new dot-plot indicated three rate hikes in 2022. After a positive reaction to the Fed’s verdict, the Nasdaq Composite plunged 2.47% on Thursday for its worst session since September. The S&P 500 shed 0.87% and the Dow Jones Industrial lost less than 0.1%.
17.12.2021
1242