|
| |
Market Wrap: Stocks, Bonds, Commodities |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
On Friday, boosted by gains in tech stocks, both the S&P 500 (up 56 points or 0.80% to 7,165) and the Nasdaq-100 (up 521 points or 1.95% to 27,303) marked record-high closing levels.
In fact, on a weekly basis, both stock indexes have been up for four straight weeks.
Meanwhile, the Dow Jones closed 79 points lower (-0.16%) at 49,230.
U.S. Donald Trump cancelled a planned trip by U.S. officials to Pakistan for talks on the Iran war on Saturday.
On Saturday night, a man opened fire near a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner which Trump attended. Trump was safely evacuated from the event, and the gunman was subdued.
Intel (INTC) surged 23.60%, its biggest daily gain since 1987 and becoming the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 on Friday. The chip-maker posted a blockbuster quarterly report, citing surging demand for its central processing units (CPUs) amid the artificial intelligence (AI) sector bloom.
Other semiconductor stocks kept outperforming the market, with Nvidia (NVDA) rising 4.32%, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) up 13.91%, and Qualcomm (QCOM) up 11.12%.
The iShares PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index Fund (SOXX) has extended its record-breaking rally to an 18th session, gaining 49% along the way.
Tech giants also performed well, with Amazon (AMZN) rising 3.49%, Meta Platforms (META) up 2.41%, Microsoft (MSFT) up 2.13%, and Alphabet (GOOGL) up 1.63%. All these four companies will report quarterly results after the bell on Wednesday (April 29).
On the other hand, Charter Communications (CHTR) plunged 25.50% on weaker-than-expected quarterly results.
Avis Budget (CAR) saw a deeper retreat, falling a further 10.97%.
The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield declined 1.9 basis points to 4.306%, halting a three-session rebound.
European stocks closed lower, with the DAX 40 dropping 0.11%, the CAC 40 down 0.84%, and the FTSE 100 down 0.75%.
On Monday, in early Asian trading hours, U.S. WTI crude futures climbed over 2% to 96.45 dollars a barrel. The Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed following stalled peace talks between the U.S. and Iran.
Gold price dipped to 4,685 dollars an ounce.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
On Monday, in early Asian trading hours, the U.S. dollar index held up well at 98.64.
EUR/USD tried to keep the level of 1.1700. Germany’s Ifo business climate index fell to 84.4 in April from 86.4 in March.
USD/JPY remained buoyed at levels around 159.50.
GBP/USD still stood above 1.3500. U.K. retail sales rose 0.7% month on month in March (vs +0.2% expected, -0.6% in February).
AUD/USD traded around 0.7150.
USD/CHF was firm around 0.7860.
Bitcoin held up well at levels above 78,000 dollars.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
In Asian trading hours, EUR/USD and GBP/USD were both steady, at 1.1728 and 1.3540 respectively.
Meanwhile, USD/JPY eased to 159.30.
Gold rebounded to 4,721 dollars.
Bitcoin climbed to 79,147 dollars.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Germany's GfK consumer confidence index is expected to slip to -30 in May.
In the U.S., the Dallas Fed manufacturing index is estimated to drop to -0.8 in April.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
