Global Stocks Open Cautiously Amid a Week Packed with Major Events: Market Overview

New York, January 29, 2024 - PRISM MarketView - Investors began the week with a cautious stance, anticipating updates from central banks on interest rate policies and preparing for a heavy schedule of corporate earnings.

In the U.S., Wall Street’s future contracts remained stable following the S&P 500’s third consecutive week of gains, ending Friday near a record high. European markets also showed resilience, with the Stoxx 600 index maintaining levels not seen since January 2022. This was partly due to a boost in oil company stocks, like BP Plc, (BP),  Shell Plc (SHEL) , and TotalEnergies SE (TTE) , each climbing over 1% amidst escalating tensions in the Middle East which have led to a surge in crude oil prices.

In the tech sector, major players like Apple Inc (AAPL) ., Microsoft Corp., (MSFT) , and Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) , are set to release their earnings, drawing significant attention. Currency and bond markets showed mixed movements; the dollar held steady, U.S. Treasury yields saw a slight decrease, while the euro weakened and European government bonds rallied. Speculations are rife that the European Central Bank might begin rate cuts by April, following comments from ECB officials suggesting possible easing.

In corporate news, Holcim Ltd. (HOLN.SW),  experienced gains after announcing its plans to spin off its North American operations. Conversely, Royal Philips NV (PHG),  saw a 6% drop following its decision to halt sales of certain medical devices in the U.S. Bayer AG (BAYN.DE), also faced challenges as its Monsanto unit was hit with a $2.2 billion jury verdict related to the Roundup weedkiller.

In Asia, market indices generally rose, fueled by optimism over China’s efforts to support its equity market. Following an announcement by China’s securities regulator to stop the lending of specific shares for short selling, Chinese property stocks saw mixed reactions, with China Evergrande Group’s shares being suspended after a sharp 21% drop.

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