General Market Analysis 22/04/2024

Tech Stocks Tumble Ahead of Earnings – Nasdaq Down 2% 

Tech Stocks took a hit in trading on Friday as investors looked ahead to a raft of earnings reports from major players this week. The Dow bucked the trend, closing the day up 0.56%, but the S&P and Nasdaq both took strong hits into the weekend, finishing down 0.88% and 2.05% respectively. US Treasury yields dropped off recent highs, the 2-year losing 1.5 basis points to trade at 4.975% and the 10-year falling 3 basis points back to 4.617%. The dollar finished slightly below previous levels but remains well-bid against most of the majors. Oil drifted higher with Middle East tensions still very much at the forefront of trader’s minds, Brent adding 0.21% to trade at $87.29 and WTI gaining 0.5% up to $83.14 a barrel. Gold pushed higher again as well, trading up 0.7% and closing around the $2,390 level.  

This Week’s Earnings Numbers Crucial  

This week’s earning numbers in the US could be crucial for the next few months trading in stock markets. The major US indices are off recent historic high levels but remain relatively strong and the data coming out of major tech companies this week is seen by many investors as being more important this time around. Tesla, Meta, Alphabet, and Microsoft are all set to release their quarterly numbers and with all having a heavy weighting in the index, traders are braced for more volatility in the days ahead, especially in the New York trading sessions. The price action ahead for this week could be pivotal and will soon tell us if recent corrective moves have been driven by changes in fundamentals from the Fed or if some harder moves are coming.  

Quiet Start to a Busy Week

The week kicks off with a relatively muted calendar day although risk trades are expected to start the bid as tensions appear to be easing in the Middle East. The Asian session sees the main data release of the day when we have the Chinese Prime Loan rates released to the market, the expectation is for no change in the key 1-year and 5-year numbers, but investors will be hoping for signs of further stimulus for the market. The calendar is relatively quiet for the other two sessions of the day although Euro traders will be paying close attention to comments from ECB President Christine LaGarde when she speaks at Yale University during the US session.  

The post General Market Analysis 22/04/2024 first appeared on IC Markets | Official Blog.