(New York) Volatility remained strong on Friday in Western markets, with a new close in the opposite direction between Europe and the United States, Wall Street taking advantage of a technical rebound without reassuring itself on the bottom.
Updated yesterday at 5:05 p.m.
The Dow Jones ended with a gain of 1.65%, the NASDAQ index, 3.13%, and the broader S&P 500 index, 2.43%, thanks to bargain buying after several weeks. correction.
In Europe, the indices made up for some losses at the end of the session, but remained negative: Paris fell by 0.82%, Frankfurt by 1.32%, London by 1.17% and Milan by 1.18%.
“This week’s swings appear to be symptomatic of a market struggling to cope with the consequences of central banks being more concerned with containing inflation risk than supporting economic growth,” said Michael Hewson. , CMC Markets UK analyst.
Investors were trying to discern the pace that the US Federal Reserve might adopt for raising its key rates after the first hike scheduled for March.
“We think there will be a moderate slowdown in the (US) economy and corporate earnings over the next two quarters, but if the Fed is too aggressive, it will get worse,” said Eric Freedman. , chief investment officer for US Bank Wealth Management.
In addition, the stagnation in the Ukraine crisis and the continued spike in energy prices add to the threat to economic activity.
The Fed is now completely focused on the fight against inflation. His favorite barometer to measure it, the PCE indicator, posted a 5.8% year-on-year increase in December, in line with expectations.
Apple’s new triumph
Apple broke new sales records during the holiday season, making nearly $124 billion in revenue in three months, for a net profit of $34.6 billion.
Largest global capitalization, the Cupertino (California) group was highly sought after (+6.98% to 170.33 dollars). In a single session, the firm at the apple gained more than 180 billion dollars in capitalization.
Nothing seems to be able to stop the group from Cupertino (California), not even the supply difficulties, which Apple sees being reduced from the current quarter.
Following Apple, Wall Street heavyweights Microsoft and Alphabet gained 2.81% and 3.23% respectively.
Record year for LVMH, Salvatore Ferragamo lagging behind
The world number one in luxury LVMH (+ 3.23% to 716.40 euros) broke its sales records (64 billion euros) and profit (12 billion euros) in 2021, well above the pre-pandemic results.
The Italian luxury house Salvatore Ferragamo has not yet returned to the level of 2019. The action lost 4.27% to 18.37 euros.
H & M healthy, cold shower for Henkel and Chevron
The Swedish ready-to-wear giant Hennes et Mauritz (H&M) has announced a 2021 annual net profit multiplied by nine and above expectations. The stock rose 5.05% to 187.68 Swedish crowns.
His compatriot, a specialist in household appliances, Electrolux, on the other hand fell 3.48% to 181.50 euros after a sharper drop than expected in its annual net profit.
Investors were also disappointed by the results of the detergent manufacturer Henkel (-11.33% to 69.80 euros) in Frankfurt or those of the Americans Caterpillar (-5.19% to 201.16 dollars) and Chevron (- 3.52% to $130.61).
Oil is rising again
Oil prices continued to rise on Friday, propelling Brent above $90 a barrel again, as escalating geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and Russia still pose a risk to crude supply.
The price of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea for delivery in March gained 0.77% to 90.03 dollars, its highest since October 2014 already reached on Wednesday.
In New York, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery the same month ended up 0.24% at 86.82 dollars.
The US dollar hit a 20-month high on Thursday against the euro ($1.1121), which regained some strength (+0.04%) at $1.1150.
Bitcoin rose 5.72% to $37,878.