Monday ended with a 0.1% rise for the S&P500 and a 0.1% drop for the Nasdaq 100. The session saw some volatility, as all three indices fell quite sharply in early trading. They eventually recovered as investors regained risk appetite, fueled by their belief that U.S. monetary policy will ease by year's end. They do not foresee a banking cataclysm or a violent recession. Indices also tell us that these investors are not afraid of geopolitical tensions or the contraction in corporate earnings that is looming with the Q1 2023 figures. The sum of these risks is not enough to shake the certainty that, as a last resort, the US central bank offers all-risk insurance. In this context, futures on the main three Wall Street indices were flat today.

In other news, the banking crisis is showing signs of easing as FHLB debt issuance fell at the end of March. Meanwhile, Japan got a boost today after Warren Buffett hinted that he is considering investing more heavily in the Archipelago. The words of the American financial guru are still gospel for part of the market.

On the agenda, we will have to wait until Wednesday 12 for the first macroeconomic highlight of the week, the announcement of US inflation for March. It will be followed in the evening by the publication of the minutes of the last Fed meeting. On Thursday 13, the US producer prices for March will be released before the big one on Friday, the combination of retail sales and consumer confidence from the University of Michigan on Friday 14. To finish our column, bitcoin is back above the symbolic USD 30,000 mark for the first time since June 2022. Gold is hovering around USD 2,000 and oil is firm with WTI above USD 80 and Brent above USD 84.

On the corporate calendar, the first major releases are due on Friday with the first quarter results of US banks JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo.

 

Economic highlights of the day:

This morning, China announced a 0.7% rise in consumer prices and a -2.5% fall in producer prices for March. The consensus was 1% and -2.5% respectively.

The dollar is down 0.3% both against the euro and the pound to EUR 0.9166 and GBP 0.8042. The ounce of gold is hovering around the USD 2000 mark. Oil remains firm with North Sea Brent at USD 84.10 per barrel and US WTI light crude at 79.81 dollars. The yield on 10-year US debt is moving at 3.40%. Bitcoin is up to 30,100 dollars.

 

In corporate news:

  • Boeing plans to bring production of its 737 MAX back to its 2019 rate of 52 per month by January 2025 as the group seeks to fully recover from two fatal crashes and the COVID-19 pandemic that reduced production, two people familiar with the matter said.
  • KKR will buy a 30% stake in financial communications group FGS Global in a deal that values the company at about $1.4 billion.
  • Newmont Corporation on Tuesday upped its offer price for Australian mining group Newcrest Mining, submitting a final bid of A$29.4 billion ($19.5 billion) to complete a deal that would strengthen Newmont's position as the world's largest gold producer.
  • The Korean competition regulator fined Alphabet 42.1 billion won ($31.88 million) for blocking the release of mobile video games on competing platforms.
  • Virgin Orbit, the satellite launch company of British businessman Richard Branson, is down 27 percent in pre-market trading after the group said it received notice that Nasdaq has initiated delisting proceedings.
  • Moderna said Tuesday it expects sales of its respiratory disease vaccines to be between $8 billion and $15 billion by 2027.
  • Carmax, the used-car retailer reported a nearly 57 percent drop in fourth-quarter profit Tuesday as sales were held back by consumer concerns amid economic uncertainty.
  • Apple has fixed the problems that caused a brief outage of its Apple Music streaming services, the iPhone maker said Tuesday.
  • Tyson Foods - About 150 employees at an Arkansas chicken plant of the group went on strike Monday to get better treatment before the company closes the plant, said the head of an organization that advocates for workers in the sector.
  • Black Knight – Intercontinental Exchange - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has opened a new front in its fight against Intercontinental Exchange's purchase of Black Knight by asking a federal court for a preliminary injunction to halt the deal while its internal administrative proceedings take their course.
  • Berkshire Hathaway - The investment firm owned by Warren Buffett sold 2.48 million Hong Kong-listed shares of electric vehicle maker BYD for HK$539.93 million ($68.78 million), according to a stock exchange filing.
  • National Cinemedia climbed 91.7% in pre-market trading after AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc revealed its stake in the company, which specializes in movie advertising.

 

Analyst recommendations:

  • Akamai: Piper Sandler upgrades to overweight from neutral. PT up 19% to $93.
  • AstraZeneca: Morgan Stanley moves from Equal-Weight to Overweight by targeting GBp 13,200.
  • Boeing: Credit Suisse maintains its Neutral opinion on the stock. The target price has been raised from USD 200 to USD 220.
  • Entain: Credit Suisse starts tracking at neutral with a target of GBp 1390.
  • Federated Hermes: J.P. Morgan raised its recommendation on Federated Hermes Inc. Class B to overweight from underweight. PT up 17% to $47.
  • Flutter: Credit Suisse starts tracking at Outperform, targeting GBp 19,250.
  • Leggett & Platt: Goldman Sachs downgrades to neutral from buy. PT up 9.7% to $34.
  • Match Group: Baird initiated coverage with a recommendation of outperform. PT set to $50.
  • Newmont Corp: CIBC Capital Markets upgrades to outperform from neutral. PT up 23% to $63.
  • Range Resources: Wells Fargo upgrades to overweight from equal-weight. PT up 14% to $31.
  • Roku: Baird initiated coverage with a recommendation of neutral. PT set to $71.
  • Smith & Nephew: Morgan Stanley moves from Equal-Weight to Overweight targeting GBp 1364.
  • Southwestern Energy: Wells Fargo downgrades to underweight from equal-weight. PT down 5.3% to $5.
  • Whirlpool: Goldman Sachs upgrades to buy from neutral. PT up 24% to $160.
  • WW International: Goldman Sachs upgrades to buy from neutral. PT jumps 216% to $13.