- European indices felt down on Friday with DAX and CAC40 falling around 1,5% and FTSE which ended the week 0,6% lower. Novo Nordisk shares gained 1% after company raised it's full year forecasts due to Wegovy and Ozempic sales. In general stock market sentiment is weak;
- Today we saw strong gains in the oil market in response to the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East. Israel announced the possibility of storming the Gaza Strip, indicating the need to evacuate civilians to the south of the enclave. Moreover, the latest Israeli army reports indicate that drones are firing on Hezbollah fighters
- Oil futures rose more than 4% today. Brent approached the $90/barrel level again, raising renewed concerns about reaching the $100/barrel level. Yesterday's OPEC report showed a continued demand outlook, and the DOE report showed a rebound in implied fuel demand.
- Gold is gaining more than 3% and is near the $1,930 per ounce level. Silver is gaining more than 4%, with euphoric gains recorded by mining companies like Hecla Mining, Coeur Mining and Silvercorp
- The increases in commodity prices occurred while the US dollar strengthened and bond prices rose. This may be related to high concerns about the upcoming weekend
- The Fed's Harker, known as one of the biggest hawks in the U.S., indicates that hikes are no longer needed and the disinflationary trend continues
- U.S. banks JP Morgan, Wells Fargo and Citigroup all reported higher-than-forecast results on the earnings per share and revenue side - all three gained sharply today, although on the other hand we can see a pullback in the US stock market as a wholel
- BlackRock's financial results came in positive on both revenue and earnings per share but the fund saw significant outflows from its equity market funds and net inflows were the most disappointing, falling 85% y/y to $2.57 billion vs. $61,74 billion expected. Also UnitedHealth Group surprised markets positively - shares of health insurance company are gaining today more than 2,5%;
- The University of Michigan Sentiment Index (prelims) fell below forecasts today and indicated 63 versus 68.1 earlier. Expectations and current conditions measures were also lower than expected. The 1-year inflation expectations rose: 3.8% vs. 3.2% previously, with 5-year expectations rising to 3% vs. 2.8% previously and a forecast of 2.8%
- US500 loses 0,56%, US30 is trading flat and US100 loses 1,4% with Meta Platforms and Nvidia shares losing more than 3%. EURUSD loses 0,25% and approaches 1,0503 level in the end of the week.
VIX futures contracts surges 17% today due to higher volatility expected on S&P 500. Source: xStation5
