U.S. Markets Fall from Early Highs; NASDAQ in Red Again

Stocks in the U.S. market started with a bounce-back but fell later even as bond yields cooled down.

The S&P 500 is now in red near a one-month low, while the Dow Jones index lost early gains. Tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 also crashed down before moving up in the morning. Banking stocks are in the green with the last of the big six banks reporting quarterly results. Morgan Stanley moved up after reporting a rise in equities-trading revenue. 

SGX NIFTY currently trades at 17,970, up 32 points.

• Stoxx Europe is up by 0.78%
• Dow Jones is up 0.01%
• NASDAQ is up by 0.75%

Sony Loses $20 Billion in Market Value After Microsoft’s Activision Deal

Half a world across, shares of Sony crashed 13% in Japan after Microsoft announced the acquisition of Activision. Activision owns popular titles including Call of Duty and the acquisition may see the game being pulled out from the PlayStation console. 

This is challenging Sony’s traditional gaming console business that relies on hardware sales and exclusive games. Sony lacks the financial power to compete with Microsoft in this spending spree.

Have you owned a Sony or Microsoft console? Let us know in the comments below!

U.K. Authority planning to Restrict Crypto Ads to Wealthiest Investors

Crypto assets have been proposed to be changed to “restricted mass marketing investments” by the British watchdog. This means that only high net worth investors can be at the receiving end of promotions for crypto assets. The measure has been proposed in the interest of consumer protection. 

In November, Indian Finance Minister had said that they are monitoring Crypto Ads, but not weighing a ban.

China considering releasing Restrictions on Property Developers

Chinese regulators are looking at lifting restrictions on developers’ access to cash from past sales, in a major step toward helping the industry’s liquidity crunch. 

As a result, there is now a record-breaking rally in Chinese property bonds. This shows the huge funds flowing into the risky securities in expectation of the country lifting restrictions. This might have a rub-off effect on property developer stocks around the world. 

China’s leading LNG importer Floods LNG spot market 

Sinopec, a top Chinese LNG importer has issued a sales tender offering up to 45 cargoes of delivery to ports in North Asia. Usually, a buyer, Sinopec’s surprise move indicates that it is well-stocked and is expected to trigger a bearish sentiment in the LNG spot market.

This comes in between a slowing demand of the LNG spot market as the Asian buyers cut back on purchases. Lower demand and higher supplies indicate a potential; fall in prices.

Oil continues Rally as demand aims for pre-pandemic levels

The International Energy Agency said that demand seemed to still be high despite Omicron and that the global supply surplus is shrinking. With increased demands in Asian countries and the unrest in the Middle East owing to the drone attack in the UAE. The report suggests that stockpiles are below pre-pandemic levels.

Also, a major crude pipeline running from Iraq to Turkey was affected by an explosion on Tuesday, after which Futures in New York exceeded $87/barrel. 

Profits Of BOA And Morgan Stanley Jumps After Demand For Advisory Services

The share of Bank Of America and Morgan Stanley jumped nearly 5% on Wednesday in NYSE after reporting strong Q4 results. Morgan Stanley earned robust fees from managing assets for wealthy clients and the Bank Of America’s results were backed by the growth in demand for advisory services. Morgan Stanley was ranked third in the global investment banking league tables, after Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan.

U.K Inflation Rises Near 30-Year High

According to the Office for National Statistics, the UK’s rate of inflation increased to 5.4% in December 2021 from November’s 5.1%. This is the highest mark since March 1992. The numbers will force the Bank of England to raise interest rates again on February 03, 2022. After increasing the interest rates last month, BoE became the world’s first major central bank to do so, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Canadian Inflation Also Hits A 30-Year High

Canada’s statistics office said on Wednesday that the country’s annual inflation rate rose to 4.8% in December, a 30-year high since the 5.5% acceleration marked in September 1991. This is the ninth consecutive month in which inflation jumps out of the Bank of Canada’s 1% to 3% control range. Analysts strongly believe the central bank will start increasing interest rates next week despite the rising Omicron concerns.

Global Markets fall as Bond Yields Shoot up

In what seems like news from half a year ago, markets across the world moved down as bond yields moved up.

The rise in bond yields across the world is seen as a reaction to an expectation that the U.S. will be forced to increase interest rates by March. Goldman Sachs’ trading revenue put pressure on the banking industry, while gaming studio behind Call of Duty and CandyCrush Activision Blizzard shot up 30% after Microsoft announced a $68.7 billion deal to buy it.

SGX NIFTY currently trades at 18,145.00, up 32 points.

• Stoxx Europe is down by 1.01%
• Dow Jones is down by 1.58%
• NASDAQ is down by 1.72%

Oil Prices Reach Highest Since 2014 after UAE Attack

As a primary reaction to yesterday’s terrorist attack on Abu Dhabi, global oil prices gave a breakout to their highest prices since late 2014. Oil traders are paying higher for cargoes in Asia, as supplies are also down after outages from Libya to North America.

In between other indicators, Goldman Sachs has raised its Brent forecasts to $100/barrel, up a further 20% in the third quarter of 2022. Petrol prices in India have been unchanged lately funnily, ahead of the UP Polls in Feb 2022.

Microsoft Buys Activision Blizzard in $69 Billion Game Deal

Microsoft Corp. agreed to buy Activision Blizzard Inc. in a $68.7 billion deal, uniting two of the biggest forces in video games to create the world’s third-biggest gaming company.

In its largest purchase ever, Microsoft will pay $95 a share in cash for one of the most legendary gaming publishers, known for titles like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft but which is also grappling with a cultural upheaval over its treatment of women. 

Israel Extends Help to UAE After Houthis Attack on Abu Dhabi

After months of heightening tensions between the UAE and Houthis, the terrorist group attacked the biggest UAE Emirate yesterday. Now, Israel has offered security and intelligence support to the United Arab Emirates after the drone attack indicating more tensions in the area.

“We stand ready to offer you security and intelligence support in order to help you protect your citizens from similar attacks,” Israeli Prime Minister said in a letter to Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince. The attack came after the Houthis warned Abu Dhabi against strengthening an airstrike campaign against them. 

Diamond Mining Giant Sharply Increases Prices

De Beers, the world’s largest diamond miner, has raised prices by about 8%. The diamond and jewellery sector has come out with gains after the Covid-19 pandemic increased demand and cut down supplies.

Consumer demand for diamond jewellery is said to have grown strongly last year. At the first big sale of the year, the prices of larger stones rose by about 5%, while some smaller rough diamonds saw price hikes of nearly 20%. Do watch out for stocks related to the sector in our markets in the upcoming days. 

Chinese Central Bank Trying to Stabilise Economy after Evergrande

After yesterday’s surprise interest rate cut, the Chinese Central Bank said that they will aggressively use ‘economic tools’ to stabilise the economy. Currently, the Chinese economy has been hit by a property slowdown due to the Evergrande issue and signs of stress in the banking industry.

Deputy Governor Liu Guoqiang said today that he will “avoid a collapse in credit”, showing that the second-largest economy in the world is in more trouble than earlier thought.

U.S. Markets Cool Down; Pfizer Promises Results against Omicron

Stocks in the U.S. market fell just after opening on Thursday. The market is slowing down after rallying for many days. The threat of restrictions slowing down economic recovery is also present.

There is also the issue of Evergrande default once again being in the news. The group has been officially labelled as a defaulter for the first time.

Stoxx Europe is down by 0.12%
Dow Jones is down by 0.41%
NASDAQ is up by 0.01%

Omicron Four Times More Transmissible Than Delta, Study Says

According to a study conducted by Hiroshi Nishiura, a professor of health and environmental sciences at Kyoto University, the omicron variant of Covid-19 is 4.2 times more transmissible in its early stage than the delta variant. Nishiura said that the new variant is strong enough to beat immunity built naturally and through vaccines. This data brings a lot of concerns and fears among the economies. But major vaccine companies have already said that three shots of vaccines are efficient against the new Omicron.

U.S. Jobless Claims Decline to Lowest Level Since 1969

Applications for the U.S. weekly state unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level since 1969. This shows difficulties adjusting the raw data for seasonal effects.

Initial unemployment claims totaled 184,000 in the week ended Dec. 4, down 43,000 from the prior period, Labor Department data showed Thursday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 220,000 applications.

Watches Of Switzerland Reports Strong November Sales

Luxury watch retailer Watches of Switzerland Group (WoS) said on Thursday that the company witnessed strong November sales and are in line with the estimates. WoS, the biggest Rolex retailer in Britain, in November upgraded its full-year revenue outlook to 1.15-1.20 billion pounds(Rs 11473-11972 crores), after the acquisition of five U.S. stores with combined annual revenue of about $100 million. Which all companies listed in India come to your mind, that have a strong market share in the Watch and ornamental business? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

Italy Fines Amazon $1.3 Billion For Abuse Of Market Dominance

Italy’s antitrust watchdog said on Thursday it has imposed a fine of 1.13 billion euros (Rs 9,678 crores) on tech giant Amazon for alleged abuse of market dominance. This is one of the biggest penalties imposed on a U.S. tech giant in Europe and in response to this, Amazon said that it will appeal against the decision. The regulator said that Amazon uses Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) and Prime label to boost the business, but it prevents third-party sellers from associating the Prime label with offers not managed with FBA.

Crypto and Meme Stocks Rival Afghanistan Atop Google’s Year in Search

Meme stocks and cryptocurrencies rivaled major sport and the fallout from the Taliban’s rise to power as the biggest search and news trends for Google in 2021. When searching for news, Google users were mostly interested in Afghanistan, according to the latest annual trending report of Alphabet Inc.’s search giant. The rest of the top places were dominated by Reddit stock favorites such as GameStop Corp. and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., together with popular cryptocoins Ethereum and Dogecoin.

Better.com CEO Admits He ‘Blundered’ in Firing 900 Workers in a Zoom Call

Vishal Garg, chief executive officer of mortgage and real estate startup Better HoldCo Inc., apologized for firing 900 workers over Zoom after clips of the incident went viral and prompted the departure of executives. “I own the decision to do the layoffs, but in communicating it I blundered the execution,” Garg said in an apology posted on the company’s website. “I am deeply sorry and am committed to learning from this situation and doing more to be the leader that you expect me to be.”

U.S. Markets Cool Down; Pfizer Promises Results against Omicron

U.S. stocks moved down after rallying for two days back to back. This is following the S&P 500 index’s biggest two-day rally in more than a year.

Travel shares mostly maintained gains, with airlines stocks moving higher. However, losses in FMCG and financials pushed the market slightly lower. 

Stoxx Europe is up by 0.55%
Dow Jones is down by 0.25%
NASDAQ is up by 0.15%

Philippines Looking For $6 Billion Central Bank Loan In 2022

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said the Philippine government is looking for a 300-billion peso (Rs 44,974 crores) loan from the central bank next year. The government will fully repay its outstanding 540-billion peso provisional advances at Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (the central bank of the Philippines) on Dec. 10, before the maturity on Jan. 12, 2022, maturity. The smaller loan amount indicates that the economy is in a strong recovery phase.

China’s Yuan Hits Three-Year High

China’s Yuan on Wednesday marked the strongest level since May 2018, in the middle of analysts saying that the nation’s economy will remain strong on monetary stimulus. The Chinese Yuan gained more than 0.25% to 6.342 per dollar. Traders are more confident in China’s growth after the central bank announced broad monetary easing this week. The Yuan is one of the best performers among major currencies this year with a gain of 2.7%.

Three-ShotBioNTech, Pfizer Vaccine Can Neutralises Omicron 

BioNTech and Pfizer said on Wednesday during the lab test it was found that a three-shot of their COVID-19 vaccine has the ability to neutralize the new Omicron variant. If needed, both the companies expect to deliver an Omicron-based vaccine in March 2022. BioNTech and Pfizer also mentioned that two doses of vaccine are weaker against the variant.

McDonald’s Offers Low-Cost Loans To Boost Diversity Among Its Franchisees

Fast food firm McDonald’s Corp said on Wednesday that it will provide $250 million of low-cost, short-term loans over five years in the US to boost diversity among its franchisees. The company has plans to increase its franchisee recruiting and development efforts globally. The franchisees should have at least $500,000 of liquid assets before they can even apply for the program. The investment required ranges from $1 million to just over $2.2 million.

China’s Weibo Falls 7.2% in Its First Day of Trade in Hong Kong

Shares of China’s Twitter-like website Weibo Corp. fell in their first day of trading in Hong Kong, signaling continued investor caution toward the internet sector amid Beijing’s market-damping regulatory moves. Weibo declined 7.2% to finish at HK$253.20 on Wednesday, versus the HK$272.80 listing price. Shares were set at a discount of about 2.8% versus the close of their American depositary receipts on Dec. 1. 

Giant Tesla Battery Site That Caught Fire Now Open in Australia

The giant energy storage facility in Australia that experienced a major fire during testing of its systems using Tesla Inc. batteries has been brought into full operation. Neoen SA’s Victorian Big Battery near Geelong in southeastern Australia, one of the world’s largest storage projects, has capacity of 300 megawatts and will help improve reliability of power supply during the southern hemisphere summer, the local state government said Wednesday in a statement.

NASDAQ Climbs up as Markets Rebound; Omicron Worries Subside

U.S. stocks bounced back with bullishness for the second day, with equities around the world. There is optimism that the Omicron variant will not affect global economies in a big way.

The S&P 500 jumped 2.1% to the highest level since the emergence of the new virus strain that crashed markets in the last week of November. Tech shares jumped back up. Bitcoin rallied and crude oil moved past $72/barrel in New York.

Stoxx Europe is up by 2.46%
Dow Jones is up by 1.43%
NASDAQ is up by 3%

BMW Hits 10 Lakh EV Sales

German carmaker BMW said on Tuesday that it has sold its ten lakh electric vehicle (EV) and is planning to reach 20 lakh total EV sales by 2025. Board member Pieter Nota also mentioned that around 70% of EVs sold so far were hybrids. The automaker is targeting at least 50% of global sales to be fully electric by 2030, but lacking charging infrastructure may continue to be a major barrier to quicker sales.

Samsung To Merge Its Mobile And Consumer Electronics Divisions

Samsung Electronics on Tuesday revealed its plans to merge its mobile and consumer electronics divisions and named new co-chief executives. Instead of three, there will be two co-chief executives to lead two divisions of business chips and consumer devices. This is the biggest reshuffle in the South Korean giant since 2017.

UAE To Shift To Saturday-Sunday Weekend

The United Arab Emirates has announced plans to shift to a Saturday-Sunday weekend with a working week of four and half days from the start of 2022 to align its economy with global markets. Private companies will have the freedom to choose their own working week. UAE  currently has a Friday-Saturday weekend and from January 1 of 2022, the new system will be implemented. According to the government circular, the weekend will start on Friday afternoon, including for schools. 

U.S. Third-Quarter Labor Costs Revised Higher

The Labor Department said on Tuesday that unit labor costs, which indicates the price of labor per single unit of output, rose at a 9.6% annualized pace last quarter. It was revised from the 8.3% pace reported in November. The labor costs accelerated at a 5.9% rate in the April-June quarter. On a YoY basis, the costs increased at a 6.3% rate, instead of the previously reported 4.8% rate. All this data suggests that inflation could remain high for a while.

Glaxo Antibody Treatment Works on Omicron Mutations in Study

GlaxoSmithKline Plc said research shows its Covid-19 antibody treatment is effective against the full combination of mutations in the new omicron variant. Tests done in-vitro against a pseudo-virus that recreates a synthesized version of omicron showed that sotrovimab, Glaxo’s antibody treatment, stands up to all mutations in the spike protein of the omicron variant and not just the key mutations, the drugmaker said in a statement Tuesday. The tests included all 37 mutations identified to-date in the spike protein.

China’s Policy Pivot Has Traders Wondering How Far It Will Go

As Chinese economic policy makers shift toward easing mode, the question on traders’ minds is how far the government is prepared to go. Financial markets are showing some expectations of further easing after the People’s Bank of China said it will cut the amount of cash banks have to hold in reserve. Turnover has climbed to an 18-month high on a popular tool used by traders to finance their bond purchases, a sign of increasing leverage. 

Tech Leads Stock Losses as Traders Weigh Jobs, Fed

Stocks extended their weekly losses, with traders assessing a mixed jobs report against prospects for Federal Reserve’s monetary policy.

Technology shares led declines in the S&P 500, while the Nasdaq 100 underperformed. China’s companies listed in the U.S. tumbled amid ride-hailing giant Didi Global Inc.’s preparations to withdraw from American exchanges and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s plan to force foreign companies to open their books to scrutiny or risk delisting. Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. plunged 20% from its September peak, with shares set to a enter bear market. The dollar rose.

Stoxx Europe is down by 0.68%
Dow Jones is down by 0.55%
NASDAQ is down by 2.29%

U.S. Payrolls Growth Slowed in November While Jobless Rate Fell

U.S. job growth registered its smallest gain this year while the unemployment rate fell by more than forecast to 4.2%, offering a mixed picture that may nevertheless push the Federal Reserve to quicken the wind-down of pandemic stimulus. Nonfarm payrolls climbed 210,000 in November after upward revisions to each of the prior two months, a Labor Department report showed Friday. The labor force participation rate edged up to 61.8%.

Singapore Says Vaccinated Travelers Must Test Daily for a Week

Singapore will require additional testing for travelers and extend travel curbs to more African countries, as it rolls out more measures to allow it time to figure out how to deal with the omicron coronavirus variant. All travelers on its so-called vaccinated travel lanes will have to be put on a daily testing regime over seven days using self-administered rapid testing, the Ministry of Health said in a statement on Friday. 

Key Omicron Findings May Be Known in Days, WHO Scientist Says

Urgent studies to understand how effective Covid vaccines are against omicron have begun in a global collaboration that may yield answers in a few days, a World Health Health Organization scientist said. Some 450 researchers around the world have begun work to isolate the highly mutated variant from patient specimens, grow it in the lab, verify its genomic sequence, and establish methods to test it in blood-plasma samples, said Ana-Maria Henao-Restrepo, who co-leads the WHO’s research and development blueprint for vaccines and innovations during outbreaks and pandemics.

SoftBank Poised to Lose $74 Billion Payday If Arm Deal Is Halted

With SoftBank Group Corp.’s sale of Arm Ltd. to Nvidia Corp. in severe jeopardy, the company faces the prospect of losing a jackpot of roughly $74 billion. And its consolation prize is uncertain. U.S. antitrust officials sued to block the takeover on Thursday, arguing it will stifle innovation in the chip industry. Nvidia has vowed to press ahead, but the transaction also faces reviews from U.K., European Union and Chinese regulators — as well as opposition from Arm’s own customers — and Wall Street analysts are all but calling the deal dead. 

China Looks to Ease Monetary Policy to Help Smaller Firms

China will cut the amount of cash banks have to keep in reserve to aid smaller firms, the Premier Li Keqiang said Friday, although he didn’t say when the reduction would happen.

U.S. Markets sees Dip-Buying Again; Apple Falls

Stocks in the U.S. market moved back up after the biggest back-to-back selloff since October 2020, with dip buyers picking up some of the hardest hit shares. 

Companies benefiting from the economic re-opening once again found power with travel and smallcaps rallying. Apple fell after telling its component suppliers that demand for the iPhone 13 lineup has weakened.

• Stoxx Europe is down by 1.14%
• Dow Jones is up by 1.16%
• NASDAQ is down by 0.17%

JPMorgan Says Buy the Dip as Omicron is start of Pandemic’s End

JPMorgan Chase & Co has said that it is time to position for a trend reversal in global equity and commodity trades. The analysts at JP Morgan remarked that while it is likely that Omicron is more transmissible, early reports suggest it may also be less deadly. This fits into the pattern of virus evolution observed historically, higher transmission with lower death rates.

Demand For iPhone 13 Lineup Falls, Says Apple

Apple has informed its parts suppliers that demand for the iPhone 13 lineup has fallen in the past weeks. The tech giant earlier said that it had cut production of iPhone 13 by about 1 crore units, down from its previous target of 9 crore units due to a global chip shortage. The shares of Apple are down by 3.3% in NASDAQ on Thursday.

Novavax Expects To Start Manufacturing Omicron-Specific Vaccine In January

Novavax said on Thursday that it is expecting to start commercial production of a COVID-19 vaccine specified for the Omicron coronavirus variant in January of 2022. Currently, the company is testing whether or not its current vaccine works against the variant. The lab data about the reaction of antibodies developed after Novavax’s current COVID-19 shot with the variant is expected next week.

Toyota to Sell Only Zero-Emission Cars in Europe by 2035

In a surprising move, Toyota, the world’s largest automaker by volume pledged to sell only zero-emission cars in Europe. The company is now part of a bigger climate change pledge in the European Union. Toyota and other group companies said that the bloc will have sufficient infrastructure in place for battery recharging and hydrogen refueling by this deadline.

Omicron Could Slow Global Economic Growth, Says U.S. Treasury Secretary

The U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Thursday that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 could adversely affect global economic growth by the impact of supply chain problems and depressing demand. The words of Janet should be taken into fact, considering the economic slowdown caused by the Delta variant of COVID-19 earlier this year. According to the latest reports, in India 5 contacts of Karnataka Omicron patient has tested positive.

U.S. Markets Move Up Again after Gap-Up

Stocks move up after dip buyers come into the market after yesterday’s selloff

It’s the third straight session with a big move of 1% or more in either direction the S&P 500 rose strongly again. All major sectors advanced, led by gains in some travel companies and banks. 

• Stoxx Europe is up by 1.89%
• Dow Jones is up by 1.39%
• NASDAQ is up by 1.57%

China To Ban Loophole Used By Tech Firms For Overseas IPOs

China is planning to ban tech companies from getting listed on foreign stock markets by closing a loophole that is long used by the country’s technology industry to raise funds from overseas investors. More details of the ban are expected in a new draft of China’s overseas listing rules, which focuses on the concerns over data security. Hong Kong market listings are exempt from the ban but still need approval from the regulators.

Google Won’t Accept Philippines Election Advertisements

Google said on Wednesday that it will not take election advertisements in the Philippines ahead of the 2022 presidential vote, in line with its global plan to limit false messaging. The halt on advertising will be from February 8 to May 9, 2022. The policy will be applicable to election ads intended to be placed on Google, YouTube, and other platforms. During the 2016 Philippines election, it was found that voters can get affected by false information they see online.

U.S. Manufacturing Sector Expands In November ISM

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said on Wednesday that its index of national factory activity rose to a value of 61.1 in November from 60.8 in October. Manufacturing accounts for 12% of the U.S. economy, and a value above 50 indicates expansion in the activity. This indicates that demand for goods is still strong and companies are hiring more workers.

China’s Aggressive Mandarin Push Aims to Have 85% of Citizens Speaking It by 2025

China is launching an aggressive campaign to promote Mandarin, saying 85% of its citizens will use the national language by 2025. The move appears to put threatened Chinese regional dialects such as Cantonese and Hokkien under even greater pressure, along with minority languages such as Tibetan, Mongolian and Uyghur.

Cathie Wood’s Ark Loads Up on Twitter After Stock Hit Year-Low

Cathie Wood amped up buying of Twitter Inc. as the stock slumped to its lowest in a year amidst founder Jack Dorsey’s move to step down as chief executive officer. ARK Investment Management, which is already one of the largest shareholders of the social-media platform, bought about 1.1 million shares of Twitter on Tuesday to mark its biggest one-day purchase of the stock since July 23.