Stocks Gain, Oil Drops as U.S. Deliberate Crude Release
Stocks gained when oil fell due to reports that the Biden administration is considering massive oil spills from U.S. reserves to fight inflation. Travel promotions on the European Stoxx 600 increased. Energy stocks fell. U.S. index futures rose. Treasuries rose, while the dollar changed slightly, and the yen gained due to its recent decline.
Reports that Washington is preparing a plan to produce about a million barrels of oil a day helped boost crude oil recovery ahead of an OPEC + delivery meeting late Thursday; Where the cartel is likely to adhere to a modest output growth strategy in May. Ukrainian negotiator says Ukrainian and Russian officials intend to resume talks via video conference on Friday; However, there was no immediate confirmation from Moscow.
Global stocks are still on their way to the worst quarter in two years; Amid concerns about growth slowdown, the Ukraine war is causing instability in commodity markets. Investors are also excited about a more drastic removal of the stimulus. The fastest inflation generation forces central banks to become more aggressive by raising interest rates. Markets now see a strong chance that Federal Reserve rates will improve by half a point at the May meeting.
According to the chief economist of First Abu Dhabi Bank, in addition to the last opinion of the quarter, oil is in the spotlight in the early trading this morning. Yet all ordinary suspects are still playing, keeping the market under control, including the Fed’s ghost, which continues on an aggressive path to monetary policy normalization in the coming months.
Stocks and Russia-Ukraine Talks
Friday’s video discussions between Ukraine and Russia will be followed by private talks this week in Turkey that has not been followed by a brief ceasefire, Nor significant progress towards a broader peace agreement. The Ukrainian negotiator said he hoped a deal on paper would be enough in another week to allow a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.
The release of U.S. reserves will help investors worry about rising prices. French inflation accelerated faster than expected and reached another record; Suddenly, high rates from Germany and Spain on Wednesday.
Germany said Russia rejected its demand for natural gas purchases in rubles amid apparent de-escalation. Russia will lift a short-selling ban on local stocks on Thursday; It also removes one of the measures that helped limit the fall in the stock market after a record-long closing.
Meanwhile, Chinese data and regulatory concerns have affected Asian stocks. The Chinese government is considering a plan to raise several hundred billion yuan for a new fund to stop troubled financial firms. The president of the Kansas City Fed in the U.S. has said he supports raising a stable; he targeted a series of rates. The president of the Fed Richmond Bank noted that he is ready to raise interest rates by half a point at the next meeting.
