Today's stock story saw the United States (US) stock index soar as a result of the tech giant's boost and European stocks flattened while oil prices fell following huge losses by British Petroleum (BP).
In addition, the actions of the European Central Bank (ECB) which tried to ease the expectation of rising interest rates made the Euro retreat.
Technology Giants Stimulate Wall Street Rally
Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. recorded surges, subsequently recovering profits in the slightly disappointing opening Wall Street market.
US inflation readings to be published this week have caused banking stocks such as Bank of America Corp, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Wells Fargo to rise 1%each, in addition to pushing US treasury yields up.
The Dow Jones Industrial average rose 1.06% at 35,462.78, the S&P 500 added 0.84% at 4,521.52 and the Nasdaq Composite hit 1.28% at 14,194.46.
The European benchmark STOXX 600 ended flat with tech stocks showing a weak performance which in turn caused bond yields to rise.
Moreover, oil and gas stocks fell 1.8%, tracking a decline in crude oil prices and FTSE -listed BP fell 2% after its annual profit report hit $ 12.8 billion.
ECB Triggers Horizontal Euro
ECB President Christine Lagarde who issued comments on the unnecessary for massive tightening has caused the Euro to weaken for 2 consecutive days.
The euro was down 0.21% at $ 1.1418 while the dollar index which measures a total of 6 other currencies was up 0.198 points or 0.21% at 95.597 and the Japanese Yen added 0.34% at $ 115.5100.
The benchmark U.S. 10 -year treasury yield hit its highest level since November 2019 ahead of this week’s key inflation reading and the Fed’s expectations that it will begin tightening and the 3 -year treasury yield declined at a $ 50 billion auction.
The Geopolitical Crisis Continues To Put Pressure On Oil And Gold
Oil prices are on the decline as investors expect the resumption of indirect talks between the United States and Iran that will revive the international nuclear deal in Vienna in addition to allowing more oil exports from OPEC producers.
If the deal is successful, it could return more than 1 million barrels a day (bpd) of Iranian oil to the market thereby increasing global supply by 1%.
Brent crude futures were down 2.1% at $ 90.78 a barrel while US crude futures were down 2.1% at $ 89.36.
Meanwhile, gold prices soared to a 2-week high as a result of stimulus to inflation concerns and Russian-Ukrainian tensions.
US gold futures GCv1 rose 0.37% at $ 1,827.90 an ounce and spot prices rose 0.31%.
