Yahoo Finance US stocks mixed as FTSE 100 finishes higher after Easter break
In the US, two of the three major indices pushed higher on Tuesday as Wall Street anticipates key upcoming inflation data this week.
The Dow Jones (^DJI) rose 0.36% to 33,707 points, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained 0.11% to 4,113 points. The tech-heavy NASDAQ (^IXIC), however, dropped 0.35% to 12,042.
FTSE 100 and European markets
Across the pond, European markets and the FTSE 100 closed higher with investors in a positive mood after the long Easter weekend.
The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) climbed 0.54% to close at 7,783, while the CAC 40 (^FCHI) in Paris was up 0.95% to 7,394 points. In Germany, the DAX (^GDAXI) rose 0.36% to 15,654.
Mining stocks
Mining stocks, including Antofagasta plc (ANTO.L), Glencore (GLEN.L) and Rio Tinto (RIO.L), added support with shares up 3.34%, 3.15% and 2.64% respectively. All three were top FTSE 100 risers despite bleak economic data from China.
Read more: Trending tickers: Rio Tinto | Antofagasta | Anglo American | Glencore
Asia
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 (^N225) rose 1.14% to 27,951 points after the Bank of Japan governor signalled overnight that he would stick to ultra-easy stimulus for now, subsequently knocking down the yen.
Investor Warren Buffet also outlined plans to add to Japanese investments, boosting the index.
The Hang Seng (^HSI) in Hong Kong gained 0.02% to 20,336. The Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) lost 0.41% to 3,301 points after data indicated China’s demand weakness persists.
Bank earnings
This week is also a big earnings week for banks, including JPMorgan (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC), and Citi (C), with all three due to report their first-quarter results on Friday.
The three banks were part of a consortium last month that injected some $30bn (£24.1bn) in deposits into First Republic (FRC) to shore up the struggling lender.
Meanwhile, shares in UBS (UBS) were up by over 1.9% after JP Morgan raised its price target on the stock from CHF 23 to CHF 27. The Swiss parliament will hold an extraordinary session on Tuesday to discuss the UBS/Credit Suisse (CS) deal.
Economic data
In the US, key inflation data will be released on Wednesday with economists surveyed by Bloomberg expecting March’s consumer price index (CPI) to climb 0.3% from February’s figure, lowering the year-over-year inflation rate to 5.2%.
“This is the week that could tell us that the US consumer is no longer showing resilience and in fact is rather weak; core inflation is making things more expensive, retail sales might show the consumer is tapped out, and the banks might paint a picture that American savings accounts are down and credit card debt is skyrocketing,” Edward Moya, an analyst at OANDA, said in a note to clients.
In other economic news, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released its latest outlook for the global economy as policymakers gathered at the IMF World Bank Spring meetings.
It warned that the risk of a recession has grown for advanced economies in the wake of bank failures in the US and Europe while slightly lowering its outlook for global growth this year.
Read more: UK to be worst-performing economy in G7 this year, IMF says
The IMF projects the global economy will expand at 2.8% this year, a hair lower than its January estimate of 2.9%.
“With the recent increase in financial market volatility and multiple indicators pointing in different directions, the fog around the world economic outlook has thickened,” the IMF said. “Uncertainty is high, and the balance of risks has shifted firmly to the downside so long as the financial sector remains unsettled.”
The IMF predicted that the UK will be the worst-performing economy in the G7 this year, shrinking by 0.3%.
Oil prices
Meanwhile, US crude oil, West Texas Intermediate (CL=F), gained 0.97% to $80.51 a barrel. Brent crude (BZ=F) also rose by 1.15% to $85.12 a barrel.
It comes after a number of analysts highlighted “sufficient” reasons to anticipate higher oil prices after top crude producers announced plans to slash production from May until the end of the year.
The plans also boosted energy stocks last week as investors expect the sector to continue to benefit from oil price increases.
Crypto climbs
Investors were also watching Bitcoin (BTC-USD) on Tuesday after it gained 6.18% to reach $30,060 — maintaining one of the highest levels it has seen since June last year.
Ethereum (ETH-USD) also rose more than 3.78% to $1,923.59.
Scholar said: “Bitcoin surpassed the psychological resistance level, $30,000 for the first time since June as the 2023 crypto rally continues. Bitcoin is up 80% against the US dollar so far this year but remains sharply below the peak from the final quarter of 2021.
“Turmoil in the banking sector and speculation that the Fed could be nearing the peak of the rate hiking cycle have bolstered demand for cryptos, helping bitcoin stage a recovery after it logged a more than 60% slide last year, its second-worse annual performance on record.
“There is growing speculation that bitcoin is at the start of another bull run. Shorts have been getting squeezed this year, prompting more buying as the bears rush to cover their losing positions.”
Pound
The British pound (GBPUSD=X) gained against the US dollar on Tuesday by 0.44%, to $1.24.
The pound (GBPEUR=X) also gained against the euro, up 0.07% to €1.14.
Markets have rallied behind sterling as investors gained renewed confidence in the currency. It follows the latest economic data which showed that the UK had avoided a recession — even if narrowly. Moreover, GDP growth rates were revised higher, meaning the country’s economy actually grew over the final three months of 2022.
Read more: Pound continues rally against weaker dollar
Watch: Why analysts believe an earnings recession is imminent
Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android.
