Record numbers for Dow Jones and Standard and Poor’s.. Oil is retreating
Record numbers for Dow Jones and Standard and Poor’s.. Oil is retreating: A new day, and a start of a particularly strong week in the stock market which is affected in Asia of what is happening in India and Japan of an increase in a number of Covid-19 infections and tightening for preventive measures in the United States and Europe by the announcement of results of companies for the first quarter of this year.
Oil has retreated again after a rise of nearly 6% last week.
Evest is following up daily on what is happening in the economic arena and relays it directly to you.
Oil is declining after an increase in Corona infections in India
Oil prices have declined today amid a rise in new infections of Coronavirus in India and some other countries,
raising fears that tougher epidemic measures will slow economic growth and lead to lower oil demand.
The June futures price for Brent oil in the London Stock Exchange for futures was $ 66.67 a barrel
which is less than $ 0.10 (0.15%) from the previous session.
Price of US West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for May fell at electronic trade on New York Mercantile Exchange by $ 0.05 (0.08%) to record $ 63.08 a barrel. Yesterday’s trading ended at $ 63.13.
India recorded a record increase in the number of Coronavirus by 273810, to reach more than 15 million infections, making the country ranked second in disease rates after the United States, which reported more than 31 million cases.
The mortality rate was risen by the virus in India at a record of 1619 persons and approximately 180,000 people.
On other hand, on Sunday night, authorities stated that Hong Kong would hang flights from India,
Pakistan, and the Philippines as of April 20 due to fear of strain of Coronavirus spread there.
For its part, Japanese companies believe that the third-largest economy in the world will face the fourth wave of Coronavirus, and many people are preparing for a new business strike.
Some companies indicated that the application of slow vaccination compared to other developed groups and lack of feeling of crisis among the population will lead to a new wave of infections.
In the United States, energy companies increased their fleet of oil and natural gas rigs for the fifth week in a row.
This year’s rise in oil prices has prompted drilling workers to return to work sites.
Oil prices have fallen after the extreme jump since the beginning of March following last week’s results.
Over last week, Brent crude rose by 6.1%, while West Texas Intermediate rose by 6.4%.
The price of Brent crude oil in Friday’s trading rose above $ 67 a barrel, yet,
the market’s attempts to break through resistance levels did not work, has faced a wave of gaining profits.
According to experts, “Traders are likely to be afraid of weak momentum for rising oil prices amid a renewed increase in Covid-19 infections in India and Japan, as well as attempts by Chinese authorities to limit lending growth.
Meanwhile, JPMorgan experts expect that the price of Brent crude to rise to $ 70 a barrel in May,
relying on increased demand in the United States.
A positive weekend for European exchanges… and optimistic expectations at opening
The week ended up at all European stock exchanges for the fourth week in a row.
The Ibex index has grown moderately by 0.6%, while the French stock exchange rose by 2%,
but the German stock exchange rose by 1.5%.
Today, the Ibex index starts from 8613 points and is close to the highest annual level at 8740 points.
In Europe, the first-quarter results will be announced this week and will be the key to see if the company’s figures are in line with current prices and justify the powerful bullish trip that we saw starting in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Most high sectors during the week were basic materials, facilities, health, and real estate.
Variation in Asian stock exchanges
In Asian markets, there was a drop in the Nikkei index which fell by 0.04% to record 29,617 points,
while the Hang Seng Index rose by 0.46% to reach 29,137.87 points.
China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose by 1.1%,
and Korean Kospi was stable.
Although the upward trend in markets continues,
high assessments call for caution.
New record numbers for US indices
Reason of the first-quarter results in the United States began and corporate profits
are expected to be doubled compared to the same period of the previous year.
On Friday, US markets rebounded, as Dow Jones and Standard and Poor’s 500 indexes reached record highs
for the second day in a row.
In addition, the US stock market ended the week in growth.
Dow Jones and Standard and Poor’s 500 indexes rose by 1.2%and 1.4% in a row,
making gains for the fourth week in a row.
Nasdaq index rose by 1.1% and ended its third consecutive week in a positive zone.
Last week, the market was supported by strong corporate statistics and financial data,
particularly Goldman Sachs Group banks and JPMorgan Chase.
For its part, on Friday, the United States Department of Commerce reported that the number of houses which were built in the country during March jumped by 19.4% compared to the previous month to reach 1.739 million at an annual rate.
This is the highest figure in nearly 15 years since June 2006.
Consumer confidence in the United States rose by 86.5 points in April from 84.9 points during the previous month,
according to preliminary data by Michigan University, which calculates this index.
This is the maximum value since March 2020.
However, analysts on average expected a larger increase in the index- up to 89.6 points.
On Thursday, the United States Department of Labour announced that the number of new unemployment claims had fallen to the lowest level since the start of the epidemic.
At the same time, the pace of growth in retail sales in the United States in March
was the highest since May last year and significantly exceeded expectations.