U.S. Index Futures Indecisive Ahead of Banking Earnings, Oil Prices Surge
April 12 2024 - 7:07AM
IH Market News
U.S. index futures show no clear direction in pre-market trading
this Friday as investors eagerly await the financial results of
major banking corporations.
At 6:18 AM, Dow Jones futures (DOWI:DJI) rose 21 points, or
0.05%. S&P 500 futures fell 0.16%, and Nasdaq-100 futures lost
0.35%. The yield on 10-year Treasury bonds stood at 4.54%.
In the commodities market, West Texas Intermediate crude oil for
May rose 1.32% to $86.14 per barrel. Brent crude oil for June rose
1.13%, nearing $90.75 per barrel. Iron ore traded on the Dalian
exchange rose 3.12% to $116.56 per metric ton.
The economic schedule for Friday begins at 8:30 AM with the
release of the Department of Labor’s import and export price
numbers for March. Subsequently, at 10 AM, attention will turn to
the April consumer sentiment index, a joint preliminary reading
from the University of Michigan and Thomson Reuters.
European markets are showing gains today as investors assess
recent economic data from the UK and consider bleak projections for
inflation in the United States. The UK’s Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) grew by 0.1% in February, confirming expectations and
signaling continued moderate economic growth for this year.
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank decided to keep interest rates
unchanged last Thursday, marking the fifth consecutive session
without changes and signaling more definitively the possibility of
a rate cut soon, even amid uncertainties about future actions by
the Federal Reserve.
Asian markets closed mostly in negative territory, influenced
mainly by unfavorable performance in Hong Kong. The Hang Seng Index
experienced a significant drop of 2.18%, closing at 16,721.69
points, reacting to discouraging Chinese trade balance data. The
numbers, released with a delay, revealed a surprising 7.5% decline
in Chinese exports in March, contrary to expectations of a slight
increase of 0.1%. Imports also fell short of forecasts,
contributing to cautious sentiment among investors. Meanwhile,
other Asian indices such as the Shanghai SE in China, Kospi in
South Korea, and Australia’s ASX 200 also recorded losses, while
Japan’s Nikkei showed a slight increase of 0.21%.
The closing of the US market on Thursday marked a day of
recovery, especially for technology stocks, leading Wall Street to
a strong upward movement. The highlight was the Nasdaq, which
reached a new record closing high of 16,442.18 points, even after
retreating from its highs during the day. The Dow Jones performed
steadily, with a slight decrease of 0.01%, while the S&P 500
experienced an increase of 0.74%.
The positive market movement coincided with the results of a
thirty-year Treasury bond auction, which, despite revealing average
demand, seemed to influence investor sentiment. This auction was of
particular interest given the attention to Treasury yields, which
retreated from their highs after the announcement. Additionally,
the day was marked by the analysis of inflation data with the
Producer Price Index report.
In March, the Producer Price Index for final demand in the
United States recorded a moderate increase of 0.2%, following a
stronger advance of 0.6% in February, aligning with market
projections. Notably, the annual inflation rate for producer prices
accelerated significantly, reaching 2.1% in March, a considerable
jump from the 1.6% recorded in February. This annual increase is
the most significant since the peak of 2.3% observed in April of
the previous year, indicating an upward trend in producer-level
inflation, albeit slightly below economists’ expectations of
2.2%.
On the quarterly results front, before trading begins, financial
giants such as Citigroup (NYSE:C),
JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), Wells
Fargo (NYSE:WFC), BlackRock (NYSE:BLK),
the holding State Street (NYSE:STT), and insurer
Progressive (NYSE:PGR) are scheduled to present
reports.
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