Daily Digest: Tuesday 16th April
USA
Traders experienced a slight change of sentiment through Tuesday, with index performances mixed following two sessions of declines as markets remain cautious. The Nasdaq 100 ($NDX) rose 6.83 points (0.04%) to 17,713.66, while the Dow ($INDU) managed to end a six session losing streak, rising 63.86 points (0.17%) to 37,798.97. The S&P 500 ($SPX) was the only of the three major indexes to close down, falling 10.41 points (0.21%) to 5,051.41.
US based investment bank Morgan Stanley ($MS) was one of the headline Q1 earnings calls of the day. The bank posted higher than expected revenues at $15.14B, with both equities and FICC sales and trading revenues exceeding expectations whilst advisory revenue and net interest incomes fell short of predictions. This was positively received by the market, with shares rising 2.47% to $89.14 by the close. The firm also reported higher than expected investment bank deal making revenues, reflecting a similar trend to Yesterday’s Goldman call which suggested a resurgence in US IB grade M&A activity.
Europe
The FTSE 100 (FTSE) continued to trade lower through Tuesday, falling a further 145.17 points (1.82%) to 7,820.36, the indexes largest single session decline in several months. 96 of the 100 index constituents closed down on the day, with 82 recording >1% session declines. Macro data prints were a key catalyst for higher levels of volatility, as UK employment data came in 0.2 percentage points higher than expectations at 4.2%, while quarterly average earnings figures came in at 5.6%, 0.1 percentage points ahead of analyst estimates.
After remaining relatively sheltered through Monday’s trading session European equities experienced a trend reversal. The STOXX 600 (€SXXP) fell 7.72 points (1.53%) to 498.21 breaking the key 500 level to the downside. The German DAX (€GDAXI) fell 260.35 points (1.44%) to 17,766.23, while the French CAC (€FCHI) fell 112.5 points (1.40%) to 7,932.61.
Rest of the World
Japan’s Nikkei 225 (¥N225) fell 761.60 points (1.94%) to 38,471.20, emulating the direction of US markets for the second consecutive session. Similar to yesterday, the index opened lower, but traders failed to push prices to the upside. The Japanese Yen also continued to depreciate, falling to 30 years lows against the US Dollar with the currency trading at 154.687 as of 18:45 GMT. A strengthening Dollar has exacerbated moves to the downside as investors seek security from an array of geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties.
Chinese GDP figures for Q1 of 2024 released earlier today, indicating that growth had outpaced analyst expectations of 4.8% by 0.5 percentage points. Despite seemingly positive signals from the GDP print, industrial production figures (Y/Y) failed to impress, falling at 4.5%, 1.5 percentage points below analyst expectations suggesting that industrial output in the nation is lagging. The SSE (¥SSE) closed 50.31 points (1.65%) down at 3,007.07, falling below yesterday’s technical support at the 3,032 level.
The Indian Nifty 50 (₹NSEI) followed suit with the general market trends seen throughout the day, closing 124.6 points (0.56%) down at 22,147.90.
Commodities
WTI Crude prices continued to ease through Tuesday’s session, with traders pricing in concerns and possible impacts of production shocks in the Middle East. As of 21:00 GMT, WTI prices had fallen 0.22% to $85.29 per barrel.
As noted yesterday, Gold prices have continued to benefit from wider uncertainty in terms of both geopolitics and domestic macroeconomic conditions across major economies. As of 21:00 GMT, Gold prices had risen to a $2,399.50 per ounce, a 0.116% daily increase.
Sources:
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/world-indices/
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/commodities
https://www.londonstockexchange.com/indices/ftse-100
https://www.binance.com/en-GB/price/bitcoin
https://www.binance.com/en-GB/price/ethereum
https://qontigo.com/index/sxxp/
Stock Market Activity Today & Latest Stock Market Trends | Nasdaq
https://coinmarketcap.com/charts/#market-cap
https://www.forexfactory.com
Definitions:
YoY - Year on Year, or, Year over Year
MoM - Month on Month, or, Month over Month
QoQ - Quarter on Quarter, or, Quarter over Quarter
ECB - European Central Bank
BOJ - Bank of Japan
Fed - Federal Reserve
BOE - Bank of England
SNB - Swiss National Bank
DOJ - Department of Justice