EMEA Conference: Stocks Open Higher After Record Close
European stocks will open at a high level on Friday. Tracks achievements in most parts of Asia and on Wall Street. U.S. stocks hit another record high on Thursday. The substantial income of the department store and the unemployment data showed that the labor market continues to recover.
Shares fluctuated this week; Concerns about rising consumer prices continued. The results as a whole were strong; However, some large companies have suffered, such as Target, due to increasing costs and supply chain losses.
According to Jim Polk, head of equity investments at Homestead Funds, markets are trying to clear up inflation, and perhaps part of that is how temporary the situation will be. Concerns about overcrowding and its effect on inflation are noteworthy.
Some investors are closely monitoring the nomination of the Federal Reserve chairman, especially after President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday that he might declare a choice at the end of the week. The president will make his choice between incumbent Jerome Powell and Lael Brainard.
EMEA Conference – Tesla and Robots
In recent days, Elon Musk has sold shares of Tesla worth about $5 billion. Experts suggest this is just the beginning. Elon owned about 170 million shares when he posted on Twitter. Musk has since sold about 4.5 million shares as of Wednesday.
Companies are producing a record number of robots amid labor shortages. According to the industry group, orders for robots from North American companies are the largest during the year.
Total sales of robotics in the first nine months of the year amounted to $1.48 billion. This exceeds the record set in the same period of 2017 by $1.47 billion. Sales rose to $1.09 billion in the first nine months of last year.
EMEA Conference – Bonds
Treasury revenue declined in Asia. Traders are focusing on the higher U.S. inflation rate and the need for a possible response from the Federal Reserve. Experts predict that the growth of bond market volatility will continue shortly. At the same time, volatility in currency markets will increase. The reason for this is the uncertainty of the U.S. economic outlook.
According to Jonas Goltermann, chief market economist, global factors contribute to the bond market’s volatility; These include rising energy prices and uncertainty about the inflation outlook. According to Bank of America, the softer tone of central banks towards monetary policy calmed the fixed income market. The inflow has increased in high-class and high-income funds.
EMEA Conference – Energy
Oil futures in Asia fell even more after they fell on Friday for the third week in a row. At a White House news conference on Friday, Jen Psaki noted that the U.S. uses all available tools to reduce gasoline prices. Accordingly, the country has taken several actions, including cooperation abroad, with OPEC.
Phil Flynn, a senior analyst at The Price Futures Group, said the ban on U.S. oil exports and the release of the SPR could not provide long-term relief from high oil and gasoline prices. Exemption from reserve only serves to increase demand. This will artificially reduce costs in the market. And there, the order is fundamentally insufficient. At the same time, the ban on U.S. oil exports serves to lower U.S. production, given that the U.S. produces light oil.
EMEA Conference – Metals
Gold futures were slightly lower, though they may continue their recent growth trend. Suppose the Fed and other central banks do not provide significant guarantees that they intend to deal with higher inflation other than the expectation of passing inflation and the hope that they are correct. In that case, gold is likely to remain in favor.
Adam Koos, president of Libertas Wealth Management Group, said the fear of inflation reflects the price of gold. Copper prices should rise with a steady decline in stocks. Goldman Sachs noted that there was a 9% drop in global copper supplies last week.
Aluminum prices were about 1.5% lower. This is because the US may reduce tariffs on metal imports from Japan. This will even help to solve the problems of the metal supply chain. The United States and Japan plan to start talks on aluminum and steel issues.
