Weekly Review (December 6-10)
STOCKS
Investor sentiment has improved at the start of the week, as omicron-related fears ebbed, with reports of the symptoms being less severe boosting risk appetite across the markets. Asian stocks gained despite highly indebted property developer China Evergrande being on the verge of default after a missed debt payment deadline. However, global equities turned lower on Wednesday after France, the UK and Germany had announced restrictive measures amid an escalation of contagions in Europe. Wall Street stocks finished lower on Thursday as investors took a pause after a local rally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost less than a point, the S&P 500 fell 0.72% and the Nasdaq Composite shed 1.7%. Asian markets edged lower on Friday as well. Kospi shed 0.64% as new coronavirus infections in South Korea exceeded 7,000 for the third consecutive day today. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 0.4%. In individual stocks, China Evergrande Group shares lost 1.67% after Fitch downgraded it to restricted default status.
10.12.2021
1175
Weekly Review (November 29-December 3)
STOCKS
Global stock markets were mostly down this week, pressured by a new Covid variant found in South Africa. A new virus contains more mutations to the spike protein and thus could have increased resistance to vaccines. The WHO deemed the new strain a variant of concern, with governments imposing travel controls after the omicron variant of the coronavirus was found in more countries. The selling pressure has eased somehow after Biden said lockdowns in response to the omicron variant are currently off the table while Moderna highlighted that new vaccine formulations could be ready by early 2022. However, Wall Street stocks had to capitalize again as the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank will discuss speeding up the bond-buying taper at the upcoming meeting due in two weeks. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the first case of omicron in the United States. Switching into recovery mode on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.82%, the S&P 500 rose 1.4%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.8%.
03.12.2021
1197
Weekly Review (November 22-26)
STOCKS
At the start of the week, President Joe Biden announced that he picked Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to serve a second term. In a knee-jerk reaction to the announcement, Wall Street indexes surged to fresh all-time highs, but failed to preserve gains and finished mostly lower eventually as investors prepared for the imminent end to the Fed's large-scale bond-buying program after Powell's reappointment. On the data front, the US economy grew by 2.1% in the third quarter while the weekly jobless claims fell to the lowest level in more than 50 years. Ahead of the weekend, Asian stocks tumbled amid a global sell-off triggered by growing concerns over a coronavirus variant discovered in South Africa, with travel shares leading losses in the region. MSCI's index of Asia shares outside Japan shed 2%, its sharpest drop in three months, while Japan's Nikkei 225 skidded nearly 3%. US stock index futures were also down ahead of a shortened holiday session.
26.11.2021
1159
Weekly Review (November 15-19)
STOCKS
Global stocks were indecisive at the start of the week, investor sentiment looking mixed across the globe. Investor sentiment has improved somehow after a virtual meeting between US President Joe Biden and China’s President Xi Jinping that triggered a risk-on tone across the markets. US President Biden’s formal signing of the $1.0 trillion infrastructure spending bill added to a more upbeat mode in the markets. The US retail sales soared 1.7% in October, the largest gain since March and above the 1.4% estimate. On Thursday, fresh economic data out of the United States showed that initial filings for unemployment insurance fell slightly to 268,000 last week, the lowest level since March 2020, and the seventh straight weekly decline. Wall Street stocks mostly surged during the session while Asian equities were lower on Friday amid disappointing earnings from Alibaba.
19.11.2021
1254
Weekly Review (November 8-12)
STOCKS
Following a mixed start to the week, global stocks fell on Wednesday. The sell-off was triggered by fresh data that showed October's consumer price reading showed the biggest annual jump in more than 30 years. The CPI surged 6.2% from a year ago in October, the most since December 1990. Furthermore, core inflation increased 4.6%, the fastest gain since August 1991. As such, the Fed funds futures market now sees greater odds of the Fed’s first full rate hike coming in mid-2022. Earlier in the week, a separate report showed that US PPI rose 0.6% month over month, in line with estimates. From a year ago, wholesale prices rose 8.6%, their highest annual pace in records going back nearly 11 years. Ahead of the weekend, investor sentiment has improved somehow, with Wall Street, Asian and European equity markets trading mostly up on Friday.
12.11.2021
1214
Weekly Review (November 1-5)
STOCKS Asian stocks were mixed at the beginning of the week, with the MSCI’s index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dragging nearly 0.5% lower after weekend data showed a sharper-than-expected contraction of Chinese factory activity. Ahead of the weekend, Asian equities declined, with shares in Hong Kong leading losses in the regional markets amid the resurgent worries about the Chinese property sector after trading in Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese property developer Kaisa Group and several of its units was suspended. Wall Street stocks started the month with fresh record highs despite mixed economic data. IHS Markit's manufacturing PMI declined to 58.4 from 60.7 while the ISM's manufacturing PMI arrived at 60.8. Fresh data from ADP showed that employment in the US private sector jumped by 571,000 jobs in October after surging by a revised 523,000 jobs in September. Meanwhile, the ISM services PMI climbed to 66.7 from 61.9 in September. On Thursday, the S&P and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.4% and 0.8%, respectively, while the Dow Jones bucked the trend to lose 0.1% as declines in JP Morgan and Goldman stocks weighed on the index.
05.11.2021
1162
Weekly Review (October 25-29)
STOCKS Following a mixed start to the week, global stocks were mostly higher on Tuesday despite another developer, Modern Land, defaulted on a payment, adding to worries about the debt crisis at China Evergrande Group. Investors continued to digest the incoming quarterly earnings. In Europe, UBS beat analyst expectations in the third quarter, reporting net profit attributable to shareholders of $2.3 billion. Deutsche Bank stocks fell nearly 5% after the German lender reported a fall in revenues at its investment banking unit during the third quarter. Meanwhile, Facebook missed estimates for revenue and monthly active users in the third quarter. Following the report, the company’s stocks fell over 5%. Furthermore, Apple reported record revenue of $83.4 billion, up 29% from a year earlier, but supply shortages were estimated at about $6 billion. Earnings from Amazon disappointed investors as well. Still, both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit new record highs on Thursday. On a positive note, initial jobless claims came in better than expected, at 281,000 versus the 289,000 forecast.
29.10.2021
1167
Weekly Review (October 18-22)
STOCKS
At the beginning of the week, investor sentiment turned sour. The risk-on tone has abated after fresh data showed that China’s GDP grew a disappointing 4.9% in the third quarter versus a rise of 5.1% expected. The RBA’s meeting Minutes showed that the inflation target of 2-3% will not be until 2024. The economy would return to growth in the December quarter and to its pre-delta path in the second half of 2022, the central bank predicted. Furthermore, industrial production rose by 3.1% last month, below the 4.5% growth expected. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund slashed its 2021 economic growth outlook for Asia. In the US, industrial production fell 1.3%, to its lowest level since February. Construction on new homes in the US came in at 1.56 million in September, a 1.6% decrease from the previous month while the pace of permitting for new housing units dropped 7.7% from August. On Thursday, Wall Street stocks were mostly higher, with the S&P 500 beating another record high. The index rose 0.3% while the Nasdaq gained 0.6%. Asian markets were mixed-to-positive ahead of the weekend due to upbeat news from China Evergrande, as the embattled developer made a bond payment to avert a default.
22.10.2021
1164
Weekly Review (October 11-15)
STOCKS Sentiment in the global financial markets was mixed during the first half of the week. Goldman cut its 2022 U.S. economic growth forecast to 4% from 4.4% while the 2021 estimate was revised from 5.7% to 5.6%. Meanwhile, China Evergrande Group failed to pay some of its offshore bondholders by a Monday deadline, adding to uncertainty among investors. On Wednesday, the Fed released its minutes of the September monetary policy meeting. The central bank officials confirmed that if the economy continued to improve, they could start reducing their monthly bond purchases as soon as next month and bring them to an end by mid-2022. At the same time, some policymakers noted that uncertainty remained high. In China, the report pointed to a surge in producer price inflation, which rose to a record 10.7% over a year earlier in September from 9.5% in August. On Thursday, technology companies triggered the biggest gain on Wall Street since March. Stocks rallied after stronger-than-expected earnings reports from Walgreens Boots Alliance, UnitedHealth, Bank of America, and some other companies. As such, global stocks were trading higher across the board ahead of the weekend.
15.10.2021
1200