Major U.S. stock indexes opened higher on Thursday (23rd) after the Federal Reserve signaled it was close to pausing interest rate hikes as turmoil in the banking sector could lead to a severe recession.
before the deadline,Dow Jones Industrial Averagerose more than 220 points or 0.7%,Nasdaq Composite Indexrose nearly 150 points or nearly 1.2%,S&P 500 Indexup nearly 0.9%,Philadelphia SemiconductorThe index rose 2.5 percent.
Major index futures climbed ahead of the U.S. market open, as investors increased bets that the Fed would start cutting interest rates soon, rather than as expected.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell dismissed bets on rate cuts this year at a monetary policy news conference yesterday and said he was prepared to keep raising borrowing costs until inflation showed signs of cooling. The interest rate market shows that investors have divided views on the possibility of the Fed raising interest rates by 1 yard (25 basis points) in May. Although Powell made a hawk at the press conference, market interest rate cut expectations deepened. The market hinted that the effective federal funds rate in December will down to around 4.1%.
On the other hand, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told members of Congress that the government was not considering “comprehensive” deposit insurance to stabilize U.S. banks, which sent stocks in the sector sharply lower.
In terms of economic data, the U.S. Department of Labor released the latest unemployment benefits data on Thursday. The adjusted number of initial jobless claims reported last week was 191,000, lower than market expectations of 197,000 and a decrease of 1,000 from the previous value of 192,000. The two-week decline underscores the tightness in the labor market. In addition, the number of people continuing to claim unemployment benefits climbed last week.
In other news, the Bank of England (BOE) announced on Thursday (23rd) to raise interest rates by 1 yard (25 basis points), in line with market expectations. The BOE is grappling with rising inflation amid worries about the banking system, with data showing that UK inflation unexpectedly jumped to an annual rate of 10.4% in February.
The BOE Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) emphasized that UK economic growth is expected to be stronger than forecast in its February Monetary Policy Report, while core consumer price inflation (excluding volatile food and energy prices) remains at a peak .
As of 21:00 on Thursday (23rd) Taipei time:
Focus stocks:
Coinbase(COIN-US) fell 17.01% in early trade to $64.02 per share
America’s largestcryptocurrencyShares of the exchange Coinbase fell nearly 20 percent in pre-market Thursday. The company previously disclosed that it had received a “Wells” notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), warning of possible violations of U.S. securities laws by the company. This is an unofficial reminder from the SEC ahead of its civil action against US-listed companies.
Chewy(CHWY-US) fell 5.08% in early trade to $35.84 per share
Chewy, an e-commerce company for pet products, fell more than 5% before the market on Thursday, even though its revenue and profit in the last quarter were better than Wall Street analysts expected. The company reported revenue of $2.71 billion and earnings per share of $0.01 last quarter, beating analysts’ estimates of $2.64 billion and a loss of $0.11. However, Chewy’s active user metrics fell slightly last quarter.
AMC(AMC-US) rose 5.53 percent to $4.58 a share in early trade
Shares of US theater giant AMC rose 2.5% in pre-market trading. AMC’s stock price is still higher despite Citi’s re-rating on AMC’s “sell” (Sell), citing the overvaluation of AMC’s common stock. The day before, GameStop, which is also a meme stock (GME-US) shares are also soaring.
Today’s key economic data:
- The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the United States reported 191,000 last week, 197,000 expected, and 192,000 previously
- The number of Americans continuing to receive unemployment benefits last week was reported at 1.694 million, expected to be 1.684 million, and the previous value was 1.68 million
- U.S. February new home sales annualized total reported 640,000, expected 650,000, previous value 633,000
- The annualized monthly rate of new home sales in the United States in February was 1.1%, expected – 3%, and the previous value was 1.8%
Wall Street Analysis:
Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, said that the wording of the Fed’s interest rate decision statement yesterday was not as strong as before, reflecting the uncertainty brought about by the recent regional banking crisis. Fed officials, including Powell, are clearly concerned about the impact of recent events on credit conditions, which could affect household and business lending, slow economic growth and put pressure on inflation, Erlam said. While this can play a role in reducing inflation, it’s not the way the Fed wants it to be.
Goldman Sachs raised itsgoldPrice forecast, said it is the best hedge against financial risks, and reiterated its optimistic view on commodities, because the banking crisis has not yet spread to the spot market. The bank raised its 12-month gold price target to $2,050 an ounce from $1,950, while predicting supply constraints will become apparent later this year, prompting another rally in prices. Metals are favored over oil in the short term.