Gold climbed to a fresh record and oil resumed gains as tensions in the Middle East simmered once again.
Markets are digesting a raft of news from US inflation data to the imminent start of earnings season for American companies. In addition, Iran may be close to launching missile or drone strikes on Israeli targets in response to a deadly attack on its diplomatic compound in Syria last week. The 10-year Treasury yield fell about three basis points Friday after rising around 22 basis points in the previous two sessions. Data Thursday showed US producer prices in March increased less than forecast, after consumer-price growth came in hotter than expected earlier in the week. Equities in Asia traded mixed. Japanese stocks rose, driven by a surging real estate sector as buybacks and higher return-on-equity targets boost investor sentiment. Australian, South Korean and Hong Kong shares traded lower. Traders will continue to monitor the yen after Japanese authorities warned they will consider all options to combat weakness in the currency after it slumped to the weakest level against the dollar since 1990. It was little changed on Friday. Investors will also be closely watching the offshore yuan after it advanced against the greenback for a fourth time in five trading sessions. The People’s Bank of China kept its fixing steady on Friday to maintain currency stability amid the dollar’s broader strength. US futures were steady in Asia trading after the S&P 500 climbed Thursday, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 closed over 1.5% higher. US corporate earnings are also in focus as several major banks will report on Friday, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Co. and Citigroup Inc. Wall Street projects S&P 500 members will show 3.8% annual growth in earnings per share for the first-quarter reporting period, data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence show. Profits for the “Magnificent Seven” cohort — Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Nvidia Corp., Meta Platforms Inc. and Tesla Inc. — are on course to rise 38% in the first quarter, according to BI. Still, some sticky inflation readings have prompted market players to slash Federal Reserve rate-cut bets. Swaps traders now see around 43 basis points of cuts from the Fed in 2024 versus roughly 65 basis points before the CPI release. The 11-month high in US producer prices may have added to worries the economy is still running hot, but did assuage some concerns about the prospect of runaway inflation, according to Quincy Krosby, Chief Global Strategist for LPL Financial. US After Hours AGX +7.8% higher on earnings; GL +14.5% moves higher after refuting short seller allegations.
Nikkei +0.16% Hang Seng -1.51% CSI -0.10% Shanghai +0.23% Shenzen +0.15%
Eur$ 1.0712 CNH 7.2571 CNY 7.2364 JPY 153.20 GBP 1.2540 CHF 0.9111 RUB 93.2766 TRY 32.2939 WTI$ 85.62 +0.7% Gold 2,387 +0.7% BTC 70,960 +0.60% ETH 3,545
S&P +0.02% Nasdaq +0.04% EuroStoxx +0.71% FTSE +0.42% Dax +0.64% SMI +0.37%
Macro :
- EU Grid Firms are Failing on Cross-Border Power Trading: ACER
- *ECB'S STOURNARAS SAYS NOW IS THE TIME TO DIVERGE FROM THE FED
Keep an eye on :
Keep an eye on :
- ATRLJB SS : Atrium Ljungberg 1Q Rental Income Meets Estimates
- AAPL US : Apple Plans to Overhaul Entire Mac Line With AI-Focused M4 Chips
- BA US : Senate Panel to Hold April 17 Hearing on FAA Boeing Safety Probe
- BN CN : Brookfield in Talks to Buy Over $1.5b Stake in Castlelake: FT
- FRA GY : Fraport March Frankfurt Airport Passengers +7.8%
- GET FP : Getlink Buys British Customs Intermediary Channelports
- INPST NA : PPF Boosts Stake in InPost to 28.75%
- LMT US : Lockheed Wins $4.1 Billion U.S. Missile Defense Agency Contract
- NOVN SW : Arvinas Rises on Novartis Deal for Prostate Cancer Programs
- 005930 KS : Samsung to Unveil $44 Billion US Chip Push as Soon as Next Week
- SK FP : Groupe SEB: Finalization of the Acquisition of Sofilac
- SKAB SS : Skanska Scope Reduced by $49M for Everett, Washington Facility
- TEF SM : Telefonica Weighs Buying 5G Spectrum From Masorange: Expansion
- UCG IM : UniCredit Gets ECB Approval for €3.09B Remainder of 2023 Buyback
- UCG IM : UniCredit Gets ECB Approval for €3.09B Remainder of 2023 Buyback
- VAR NO : Var Energi Prelim 1Q Avg Production 299,000 BOE/D
- VOD LN : Vodafone Idea to Start $2.2 Billion Share Sale on April 18
- VOLVB SS : Volvo Group to Build New Heavy-Duty Truck Plant in Mexico