Daily Summary: indices begin the first correction this year and gold erases initial gains 📌

Wall Street loses on the last trading day of this week. US500 and US100 report losses of 1.70-2.00%, marking the second consecutive week of declines. The poor mood can be attributed to the escalation of conflict in the Middle East and more hawkish expectations for interest rate cuts this year.

Downward pressure is supported by the appreciating dollar. In global markets, we observe a flight to safe assets, including USD, GOLD, and JPY.

Goolsbee from the Fed expressed concerns about various inflationary pressures affecting the Federal Reserve's ability to achieve its goals. He noted Middle East instability as a potential wildcard that could negatively impact oil and gas prices.

Preliminary UoM data indicated worsening consumer sentiment in the USA. Moreover, forecasts for 1-year and 5-10 year inflation were above market expectations.

According to AL ARABIYA agency, Iranian media talk about an "inevitable attack" on government targets in Israel within the next 48 hours. However, it is noted that this information comes from unconfirmed sources.

The Israeli side reported that nearly 60 rockets were fired from Lebanon at border government targets.

In the FX market, the Japanese yen and the American dollar are currently performing the best. Currencies from the Antipodes are primarily under downward pressure.

Gold reverses its bullish trend in the second part of the day and is currently erasing all gains from Friday's session. Silver behaves similarly, now trading lower on an intraday basis; just before 8:00 PM, gold lost 1%; silver 0.9%.

BlackRock loses 2.30%, despite reporting higher 1Q24 results than market consensus. The company recorded a record AUM (assets under management) of $10.47 trillion at the end of the quarter (+15% year-over-year).

JPMorgan (JPM.US) reported better-than-expected results, yet the bank is down 6.30% today. Earnings per share amounted to $4.44, while revenues of $42.55 billion also exceeded market expectations.

Wells Fargo (WFC.US) also reported better-than-expected results, with profit and sales exceeding consensus. The bank's stock loses the least among banks, down only 0.70%. Net interest income was slightly lower than expected, as was the net interest margin.

In the cryptocurrency market, similar to stocks, we observe a deterioration in sentiment. Bitcoin loses nearly 3.20% and falls to $67,700. The Altcoin market and Ethereum see even larger declines, around 5.30%.