NEW YORK (Dow Jones)–Wall Street got off to a cautious start on Monday with a slightly positive undertone. Shortly after the opening, the Dow Jones index rose by 0.1 percent to 38,138 points, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite also rose by 0.1 percent each. Because the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision and then the labor market report for January are due later this week, the stock market is likely to be cautious and wait until then. This also applies because the Dow Jones index closed on Friday with its fifth record high of the current year.
There is also uncertainty in view of developments in the Middle East, where three US soldiers were killed in a drone attack by pro-Iranian militias in Jordan over the weekend. The USA blames Iran for this and is threatening a reaction. Actors also have an eye on the fact that the Chinese real estate giant Evergrande is now to be broken up, according to a ruling from Hong Kong. It is not yet possible to predict whether and what waves this will cause, as the decision has no significance for the Chinese heartland.
Reporting period is picking up speed
In addition, around 100 companies from the S&P 500 will open their books this week, including flagships such as Apple, Boeing, Microsoft and General Motors, which are likely to cause price movements. Ahead of the labor market data, these companies’ financial figures have the potential to provide insight into whether stronger consumer spending will continue to support the economy, as recently demonstrated by stronger-than-expected growth in the fourth quarter.
The Fed is likely to leave interest rates unchanged in the meantime, which is why the main focus is on the accompanying statements about future interest rate cuts. Currently the probability of a first Interest rate cut Already seen in March at around 50 percent, for the meeting at the beginning of May it is almost 90 percent.
“For a data-dependent Fed that has yet to regain its credibility in the fight against inflation, the likely response will be to continue to back away from a March rate cut,” said William Blair macro analyst Richard de Chazal on Wednesday. But the Fed is ready to act if necessary – that means it is preserving its options. He adds that the profits of the companies that have reported figures so far have not been particularly impressive.
Most prices on the bond market are increasing slightly, pushing yields just slightly into the red. However, this is probably just a countermovement to the slightly higher yields at the end of the week. New accents are only likely to be set with the Fed’s statements in the middle of the week.
On the foreign exchange market, the dollar index rose by 0.3 percent, the euro lost accordingly. ECB Council member Francois Villeroy de Galhau has brought an early reduction in key interest rates by the ECB into play.
Oil prices volatile
Oil prices have turned negative over time. On Friday, prices rose even further with new attacks by the Iranian-controlled Houthi militias on merchant ships in the Red Sea. However, the lack of a US reaction to the deadly attack by other pro-Iranian groups on US troops in Jordan has somewhat reduced concerns about a direct confrontation between the US and Iran or an expansion of the Middle East war.
After headwinds from antitrust authorities, Amazon decided not to take over the vacuum cleaner robot manufacturer iRobot. Both companies agreed to terminate their acquisition agreement, citing problems in obtaining regulatory approval in the EU. iRobot’s titles fell by 17.3 percent, Amazon rose by 0.1 percent.
Tesla expects investments of over $10 billion this year. However, expenses are expected to decrease in the following years. The price rises by 0.9 percent.
The penny stock Palisade Bio is up 156 percent. The trigger is the company’s announcement that it is withdrawing the proposed issue of new shares and is now seeking approval from its shareholders for a share split.
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INDEX last +/- % absolute +/- % YTD
DJIA 38,138.24 +0.1% 28.81 +1.2%
S&P 500 4,893.96 +0.1% 2.99 +2.6%
Nasdaq Comp. 15,464.38 +0.1% 9.02 +3.0%
Nasdaq-100 17,437.10 +0.1% 16.09 +3.6%
US bonds
Maturity Yield Bp to VT Yield VT +/-Bp YTD
2 years 4.35 +2.1 4.33 -6.7
5 years 4.01 -1.9 4.03 1.2
7 years 4.07 -3.1 4.10 9.9
10 years 4.11 -3.5 4.14 22.7
30 years 4.35 -2.3 4.37 37.8
FOREX last +/- % Mon, 8:27 Fri, 17:03 % YTD
EUR/USD 1.0808 -0.3% 1.0845 1.0859 -2.1%
EUR/JPY 160.00 -0.4% 160.35 160.83 +2.8%
EUR/CHF 0.9342 -0.3% 0.9357 0.9378 +0.7%
EUR/GBP 0.8522 -0.2% 0.8531 0.8538 -1.8%
USD/JPY 148.04 -0.0% 147.85 148.09 +5.1%
GBP/USD 1.2682 -0.1% 1.2712 1.2719 -0.3%
USD/CNH (Offshore) 7.1928 +0.1% 7.1897 7.1885 +1.0%
Bitcoin
BTC/USD 41,905.53 +0.2% 42,200.02 41,423.10 -3.8%
CRUDE OIL most recently VT-Settlem. +/-% +/- USD% YTD
WTI/Nymex 77.07 78.01 -1.2% -0.94 +6.8%
Brent/ICE 82.83 83.55 -0.9% -0.72 +7.5%
GAS VT Settlem. +/- EUR
Dutch TTF 28.815 27.70 +4.0% +1.12 -13.7%
METALS last day previous +/- % +/- USD % YTD
Gold (spot) 2,030.14 2,018.47 +0.6% +11.68 -1.6%
Silver (spot) 22.88 22.80 +0.4% +0.08 -3.8%
Platinum (spot) 924.33 919.55 +0.5% +4.78 -6.8%
Copper future 3.86 3.85 +0.3% +0.01 -0.7%
YTD based on the previous day’s closing level
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 29, 2024 09:41 ET (14:41 GMT)