Mega caps like Apple, Amazon, Google, and Meta Platforms turned other segments of the market green. Microsoft and Tesla were rare exceptions among tech assets as they closed the day in negative territory, yet also about 1.5% higher than session lows.
Yields on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds have just surpassed the 2.5% mark, surging on wider expectations for the Federal Reserve (Fed) to be braver when it comes to interest rate hikes to control inflation. Morgan Stanley analysts said in a clients’ note that they are looking for the Fed to raise rates by 50 basic points at both meetings in May and June, with a 25 basis points rate hike pencilled in for each meeting afterwards. In the first days of March, bond yields were in the substantially lower range of 1.6-1.8%. This shift gives additional support to banking stocks, so this sector also greatly contributes to the overall upwards swing of shares. The S&P 500 gained almost 8% since March 15, it was another price recovery for the second week in a row. In other Wall Street news, the cannabis sector surged led by Tilray and Aurora Cannabis as the House of Representatives is going to vote on a bill to legalise marijuana nationwide next week.
A jump in Brent oil quotes above $120 per barrel after reports that Iran-backed Houthi missile hit Aramco facilities in Saudi Arabia at the end of last week and this increased inflation worries, which in turn accelerated the marathon run into assets and other commodities due to depreciation of money. However, the sentiment in the oil market temporarily changed by Monday morning as traders said U.S. oil exports began to climb as a response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Some West Texas Intermediate crude oil used to go to the Cushing storage hub have been exported via the Gulf Coast. Officially, U.S. oil exports rose to 3.8 million barrels per day for the week finished on March 25, the highest since July 2021. Meanwhile, Cushing stockpiles are now near a four-year low at 25.2 million barrels.
Another reason why oil quotes fell by more than $5 early on Monday is the hope for less fuel demand from China after a limited COVID-19 lockdown was introduced by Chinese authorities in Shanghai. Brent crude futures dove below $111 per barrel for a while but then met increased demand, so prices resumed growth later in the afternoon. Oil demand in China may drop by 800,000 barrels per day in April compared with its "normal" levels, said Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB bank. Yet, few in the market believe that the duration of the impact could be long-lasting. A break in the fuel price rally may limit the recovery of global stock markets.
European stock markets started with a slight decline within 0.5% this morning, but turned positive later again, which is also a kind of confirmation signal of at least involuntarily bullish, i.e. anti-inflationary, mood. DAX futures contracts in Germany traded 1.35% higher around 3 pm CET, while CAC 40 futures in France performed only at a 0.7% pace but also on a positive side.
Alex Boltyan, senior analyst of Esperio company