On Monday, Wall Street was pretty stable as investors waited for the upcoming US inflation update and the start of the earnings season. Before trading began, futures for the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 fell by less than 0.1%.
Yeap Jun Rong, a market analyst at IG, shares his perspective on the current market trends. He suggests that while risk sentiments may look to bounce from previous unease, gains could still be somewhat limited.
This sentiment is particularly relevant in the lead-up to the pivotal US consumer price index set to release this week, as it could potentially cause some reservations within the markets.
The US government will share the March consumer prices report on Wednesday. The next day, they will provide the most recent data on wholesale prices.
US job boom raises economic considerations
Last week, the US government shared some good news. American businesses added a whopping 303,000 jobs in March.
This job boom fuels customer spending and increases business profits, which affects prices and inflation. It also influences decisions of the US Federal Reserve about upcoming interest rate cuts this year.
The Fed has kept the primary interest rate at a twenty-year peak due to some big rate increases aimed at controlling inflation. The robust jobs market and customer spending led to questions about the Fed's ability to bring inflation under 3% and nearer to its goal of 2%.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon confirmed his continuing optimism for growth in the US economy in the current year on Monday's interaction with investors.
However, he expressed concern that unfolding geopolitical events, including the conflicts in Ukraine and the war between Israel and Hamas, along with intensified US political polarisation, could potentially create a risky environment surpassing anything witnessed since World War II.
Dimon's yearly letter to shareholders often contains his thoughts on politics, regulations, global events, and how they could impact JPMorgan Chase and the broader economy. The earnings season commences this week, starting with Delta Airlines on Wednesday.
Big banks such as JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup will follow this, revealing their financial results for the first quarter.
On Monday, the Biden administration pledged to give up to $6.6 billion to a Taiwanese semiconductor giant. This will help the company expand its existing facilities in Arizona and, for the first time, manufacture the most advanced microchips domestically.
This investment allows Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to build upon its preexisting plans for two facilities in Phoenix and establish a new one. Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor rose 1.8% before trading began.
Global economic indicators and market movements
In other developments, the standard US crude dropped 64 cents to $86.27 per barrel. Meanwhile, Brent crude, recognized globally, dipped 70 cents to $90.47 per barrel.
Economic recovery in different areas pushes prices up by increasing the energy demand. Prices are also being driven higher by worries about supply and political issues.
In Europe's middle of the day, France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX rose by 0.6%. Meanwhile, Britain's FTSE 100 saw a smaller increase, rising just under 0.2%.
Japan's prime index, the Nikkei 225, rose 0.9% to 39,347.04. Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 enjoyed a 0.2% boost to 7,789.10. Meanwhile, South Korea's Kospi index climbed up by 0.1% to 2,717.65. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index saw a modest increase of less than 0.1% to 16,732.85, while the Shanghai Composite in China dipped slightly by 0.7% to close at 3,047.05.
In terms of currency, the US dollar slightly increased to 151.90 Japanese yen from 151.61 yen. The euro dropped a bit to $1.0826 from $1.0841. Bitcoin experienced a more than 4% leap to $72,335.90.