LGT Navigator

Markets cautious ahead of holiday and Fed decision

Editorial note: Due to a holiday, the next edition of the LGT Navigator will be published on Thursday, May 2 2024.

Markets started the week cautious ahead of Wednesday's public holiday and the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision, also due on Wednesday. Earnings season took a break on Monday. Amazon's figures today and Apple's on Thursday should be interesting. Eurozone inflation on Tuesday and the US employment report on Friday are also on the agenda.

Date
Author
Dominique Stutz, LGT
Reading time
5 minutes

Market numbers
© Shutterstock

Quarterly reporting took a break on Monday and picks up again today. The focus will be on quarterly figures from online retailer Amazon on Tuesday and iPhone maker Apple on Thursday. With investors hoping for more upside surprises from the earnings season and shrugging off signs of fewer interest rate cuts this year, the US started the week on a positive note. In New York, stock indices rose. The Dow Jones Industrial rose 0.4% to close at 38,386.09. The broader S&P 500 was up 0.3% at 5116.17 and the Nasdaq 100 was up 0.4% at 17,782.72. Positive sentiment was also supported by news from Tesla. The electric car maker took an important step towards driver assistance approval in China, sending its shares up 15.3% to their highest level since early March. 

In the US, the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision on Wednesday will be followed on Friday by the US Non-Farm Payrolls report for April, which will provide important data for the Fed's monetary policy.

Markets in the Asia-Pacific region rose for the most part. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 was up 0.9% after yesterday's public holiday. South Korea's Kospi was up 0.5%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.3%. Data from China showed slower growth in the manufacturing sector in April. The Purchasing Managers' Index came in at 50.4, down from 50.8 in March, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose a modest 0.1% and the Shanghai Composite lost 0.2%.

In Europe, the surprisingly gloomy economic sentiment in April weighed on markets. Economists had expected an improvement. In addition, the focus yesterday was on Germany's inflation trend, which remained at the March level. The leading EuroStoxx 50 index ended the day down 0.5% at 4981.09 points. The French Cac 40 lost 0.3%.

Among the individual stocks in Europe, Philips was in the news after it soared almost 30% yesterday. This was after the medical technology group reached a settlement with the US judiciary over defective sleep therapy ventilators. Atos, the heavily indebted French IT services provider, also gained almost 20% on Monday after the French state agreed to take over parts of the company and support the group, particularly in the area of cyber security.

In Switzerland, the stock market closed slightly lower on Monday. In particular, the heavily weighted Nestlé and Novartis shares fell, while the upcoming US interest rate decision and the public holiday on Wednesday made market participants cautious. The Swiss Market Index was down 0.1% at 11,332.36 points.

Corporate news in focus: Adidas, Amazon, HSBC, Logitech, Mercedes-Benz, Samsung, Santander, Volkswagen

Economic data in focus: China PMI, Germany Retail Sales, KOF Leading Indicator Switzerland, CPI France, Producer Price Index France, GDP Germany, GDP Europe, Consumer Price Index Europe

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Publisher: LGT Bank (Switzerland) Ltd., Glärnischstrasse 36, CH-8027 Zurich
Editor: Alessandro Fezzi
Source: LGT Bank (Switzerland) Ltd.

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