Many Federal Reserve officials emphasised the need for additional rate increases on Wednesday due to worries that a strong labour market could lead to inflation. The Dow Jones Index (US30) and the S&P 500 Index (US500) both saw losses when the stock market came to an end on Wednesday. The US100 NASDAQ Technology Index decreased by 1.68 percent.
Christopher Waller, a spokesman for the Federal Reserve, stated on Wednesday that a longer-term interest rate hike may be necessary given the difficulty of bringing down inflation.
Google conducted a premiere event for their new “Bard” chatbot, but the AI chatbot purportedly provided false information immediately before the event. The whole tech industry was affected by the decrease in Google’s stock price. In reaction to the error, Google stated that it will employ both outside input and its own testing to make sure that Bard’s responses fulfil the strict criteria for the reliability, security, and accuracy of real-world data.
After releasing surprise fourth-quarter profits and upbeat predictions, Uber Technologies Inc. (UBER) put on an impressive performance, finishing up more than 5%.
Yesterday’s trades on the European equity markets were static. On Wednesday, the DAX (DE30) in Germany increased by 0.60%, the CAC 40 (FR40) in France decreased by 0.18%, the IBEX 35 index (ES35) in Spain went up by 0.67%, and the FTSE 100 (UK100) closed up by 0.26%.
The European Central Bank should hike interest rates to amounts that would “seriously” restrict the economy, according to Governing Council spokesman Martins Kazaks. Investors should pay attention to President Christine Lagarde’s remarks; in addition, the head of Lithuania’s central bank said that the ECB would “stay the course” in order to restore inflation back to its medium-term target of 2%. The legislator also thinks there is no need to slow down or cease rate increases following the 0.5% rate increase in March.
The FTSE 100 achieved a fresh record high thanks to upbeat projections from the oil tycoons BP and Shell for the fourth quarter of 2022 and renewed hope for the Fed’s impending policy reversal. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) provided encouraging comments indicating that the UK may be able to avoid a serious recession after the British company Barratt Developments recorded a +15.9% increase in profit for the half-year.
Yesterday’s increase in oil prices was mostly brought on by the earthquake-related supply chain issues in Turkey. Additionally, rather than an increase of a comparable amount, inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed a decline of -2.18 million barrels.
Likewise, Asian markets were flat yesterday. The Nikkei 225 index of Japan (JP225) fell by 0.29%, the FTSE China A50 index of China (CHA50) fell by 0.41%, the Hang Seng index of Hong Kong (HK50) fell by 0.07% at the close, the NIFTY 50 index of India (IND50) rose by 0.85%, and the S&P/ASX 200 index of Australia (AU200) gained by 0.35 percent at the close.
April 8 marks the end of Mr. Kuroda’s five-year term as the chairman of the Bank of Japan, and the pick of his replacement will likely have an impact on how quickly the stimulus will be phased out. At the end of this month, the government’s nominations must be submitted to the legislature. The notion of replacing current Governor Haruhiko Kuroda was reportedly discussed with Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Masayoshi Amamiya earlier this week, according to reports in Japan. Hiroshi Nakaso, a former deputy governor of the Bank of Japan who has worked abroad, speaks good English, and has close ties with other central banks, is one of the candidates that is given the most consideration. While Nakaso is viewed as a more “hawkish” choice who can guide the Bank of Japan along the path of policy normalization, Amamiya, like Kuroda, is an advocate of soft monetary policy.
S&P 500 (F) (US500) 4,117.86 −46.14 (−1.11%)
Dow Jones (US30) 33,949.01 −207.68 (−0.61%)
DAX (DE40) 15,412.05 +91.17 (+0.60%)
FTSE 100 (UK100) 7,885.17 +20.46 (+0.26%)
USD Index 103.39 +0.06 (+0.06%)