Days ago, the US market indexes moved without a single trend. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (US30) rose 0.59% towards the end of the trading day, the S&P 500 Index (US500) fell 0.06%, and the Nasdaq Technology Index (US100) fell 1.33%. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones (US30) and S&P 500 (US500) indexes reached fresh highs throughout the trading session but fell after the announcement. The December manufacturing PMI numbers in the United States were disappointing (58.7 vs. 61.1 last month). Typically, an indicator above 50 indicates growth in the manufacturing sector, and vice versa; thus, researchers believe that the US manufacturing industry is steady for the time being, despite the fall in numbers.
JPMorgan analysts believe US stocks still have tremendous upside potential. According to them, the news that the Omicron strain is less harmful than predicted, as well as the stability of commercial activity in China, provide the most support for the indices.
Chip supply delays are increasing again, according to Bloomberg, due to the fast adoption of the Omicron version and additional constraints, implying that chip shortages will persist.
According to Reuters, 4.5 million Americans left their employment in November, setting a new record. Investors are now anticipating the release of nonfarm payrolls data on Friday and weekly jobless claims data on Thursday.
The United States set a new worldwide daily record with almost 1 million infections in 24 hours.
Recently, European stock indexes closed in the green zone. The German DAX (DE30) increased by 0.82%, the Spanish IBEX 35 (ES35) increased by 0.39%, and the French CAC 40 (FR40) increased by 1.39%, closing at a new high. At the conclusion of the day, the British FTSE 100 (UK100) gained +1.63%. The rate of British industrial growth in December was somewhat faster than expected, and pandemic supply difficulties eased marginally. Despite fresh COVID-19 limitations that are impeding a resurgence in consumer activity in Europe’s largest economy, German retail sales surprisingly surged to a record yearly high in November. Germany’s unemployment rate declined from 5.3% to 5.2%.
Rising fuel costs sparked protests in Kazakhstan. From January 5 to January 19, Kazakhstan’s President declared a state of emergency in the Mangistau region and the city of Almaty. The state of emergency includes a curfew from 23:00 to 7:00 p.m., limits on freedom of movement, including cars, and restrictions on admission and exit from Almaty and the Mangistau region. The country’s Internet has gone downhill, with local media claiming that the chat apps Telegram, WhatsApp, and Signal have all ceased operating.
Representatives made the decision to stick with their original intention to boost oil output by 400,000 bpd in February during the OPEC+ summit. Additionally, OPEC+ nations concurred that the oil market is presently in an equilibrium situation.
Australia recorded the most new cases per day since the epidemic started, at 47,738.
Sony of Japan has revealed plans to launch Mobility, an electric vehicle firm. In the spring of 2022, the new Sony Mobility firm will start operating. A Vision-S electric vehicle prototype was unveiled by Sony at CES 2020. The vehicle was initially tested on European roads in December of the same year, and Sony did a test drive utilizing remote control over a 5G network in April. A new stage in the development of the Vision-S has now been unveiled by the business. With safety as a top focus, Sony has introduced the Vision-S 02, a prototype of a revolutionary electric vehicle.
Shares of Chinese real estate developer Evergrande showed a slight rise after trading resumed, even though the company needs to demolish 39 buildings on Hainan that were found illegal. The demolition is the latest move by local authorities to seize some of Evergrande’s valuable land assets. Evergrande is thus trying to pay off more than $300 billion in liabilities, including nearly $20 billion in internationally traded bonds.
Main market quotes:
S&P 500 (F) (US500) 4,793.54 −3.02 (−0.063%)
Dow Jones (US30) 36,799.65 +214.59 (+0.59%)
DAX (DE40) 16,152.61 +131.88 (+0.82%)
FTSE 100 (UK100) 7,505.15 +120.61 (+1.63%)
USD Index 96.28 +0.07 (+0.07%)