US stock market: Stock indexes around the world fell sharply, oil prices sank about 6% and the dollar finished just off a 20-year high as investors fled risk and sought safe havens due to worries about inflation and slower global economic growth.
Oil prices tumbled as coronavirus lockdowns in China, the top oil importer, fed worries about energy demand. Gold fell and bitcoin plunged to its lowest level since July 2021. U.S. Treasury yields eased after the benchmark 10-year note hit 3-1/2 year highs as traders braced for consumer price data and the auction of $103 billion in U.S government debt this week.
U.S stocks extended Friday's bruising sell-off as investors rushed to protect themselves against the prospect of a weakening economy. Central banks in the United States, Britain and Australia raised interest rates last week, and investors girded for more tightening as policymakers fight soaring inflation.
Both the S&P and NASDAQ on Friday posted their fifth straight week of declines, their longest losing streaks in roughly a decade.
Dow Jones Industrial Average
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.99% to hit a new 52-week low. The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 3M Company, which rose 1.91% or 2.85 points to trade at 152.38 at the close. Meanwhile, Walmart Inc. added 1.17% or 1.75 points to end at 151.31 and Amgen Inc. was up 1.13% or 2.67 points to 239.17 in late trade. The worst performers of the session were Boeing Co, which fell 10.47% or 15.59 points to trade at 133.31 at the close. Chevron Corp declined 6.70% or 11.44 points to end at 159.25 and Visa Inc Class A was down 4.84% or 9.82 points to 193.00.
NASDAQ 100
The NASDAQ index fell 4.29%. The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Hemisphere Media Group Inc. which rose 78.78% to 6.74, Blue Water Vaccines Inc. which was up 44.15% to settle at 5.42 and Points International Ltd which gained 42.46% to close at 24.46. The worst performers were Akanda Corp which was down 74.30% to 2.29 in late trade, Renovare Environmental Inc. which lost 40.76% to settle at 0.18 and TherapeuticsMD Inc. which was down 36.86% to 4.84 at the close.
Oil price - Crude Oil market, Brent Oil market
Oil prices dropped more than 1% today, extending the previous day's steep declines as coronavirus lockdowns in top oil importer China, a strong dollar and growing recession risks fed worries about the outlook for global demand. U.S West Texas Intermediate crude fell $1.07, or 1%, to $102.02 a barrel after hitting an intraday low of $100.44.
The falls reflected trends in global financial markets, as investors shed riskier assets on worries about interest rate rises and the resulting impact on economic growth. The dollar held near 20-year highs, making oil more expensive for holders of other currencies. China's COVID situation, rising rates and growing recession risks are not helping risk assets.
The latest data showed China's export growth had slowed to single digits, the weakest in almost two years, as the country extended lockdowns to curb the spread of COVID-19. Oil prices were boosted last week after the European Commission proposed a phased embargo on Russian oil.
Precious and Base Metals - Gold price, Silver price, Palladium price
Gold was up today morning in Asia over the weakening dollar. Investors now await inflation data. Gold futures were up 0.24% to $1,863.89. The dollar, which normally moves inversely to gold, inched down on Tuesday morning. The tightened policy to fight inflation from the U.S Federal Reserve has fueled five weeks of gains for the dollar.
The Fed raised its first half-point rate hike, while the Bank of England also raised its interest rate to 1% as it handed down its policy decision on Thursday, the highest since 2009. The prospect of aggressive interest rate hikes pushed the U.S. 10-year Treasuries to climb as high as 104.19 overnight, a 20-year peak.
As investors expect additional increases of the same magnitude from the Fed, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said on Monday that he sees no 75-bps rate hike, as there are some signs of inflation cooling. In the Asia Pacific, trade data from China yesterday showed that the exports in April grew 3.9% year on year, the slowest pace since June of 2020.
The lockdown measures for COVID-19 have caused damage to the trade. Now investors await U.S. Core Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday, as well as the U.S. Producer Price Index and initial jobless claims, which are due on Thursday. In other precious metals, silver jumped 0.99%, platinum gained 0.58% while palladium rose 2.18%.
Copper prices fell to their lowest in almost eight months on Monday, as tightening lockdowns in China stoked worries about demand, with a stronger dollar further weighing on the market. Investors are awaiting China’s April trade data due later in the session to gauge the scope of disruptions from covid-19 lockdowns. Shanghai authorities were tightening the city-wide covid lockdown they imposed more than a month ago, prolonging into late May an ordeal that China’s capital Beijing was desperate to avoid by turning mass testing into an almost daily routine.
Traditional Agricultures - Corn futures, Wheat futures, Soybean futures
Wheat remained underpinned by dry conditions in the U.S and French growing belts, reinforcing global supply concerns. Soybean futures fell yesterday to five-week lows as warmer U.S weather expedited planting progress, deflating fears of added soybean acres and further cuts to corn plantings.
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