Most global markets were trading in the green on Thursday “as upbeat corporate results offset concerns about a Fed-induced economic slowdown,” reported Trading Economics. At 18h00 the S&P 500 was up by 1.08%, the Nasdaq by 1.63% and the Dow Jones by 0.81%. “Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) jumped almost 15% after the Facebook parent beat revenue expectations in the first quarter and issued strong guidance for the current period. Shares of other social media giants like Snap (NYSE:SNAP) and Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) moved in tandem. On top of that, Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) rose 3% after raising its full-year profit forecast, while Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) rallied over 6% after beating earnings and revenue estimates,” stated Trading Economics. This was despite data showing that the world’s largest economy, the US, saw slower economic growth than expected in the first quarter of this year.
Most European markets, barring Britain’s FTSE 100, also closed in the green yesterday on strong corporate earnings results. “Deutsche Bank (ETR:DBKGn) reported a better-than-expected 9% rise in Q1 profit as higher interest rates offset a slump in investment bank revenues, while BBVA (BME:BBVA) said Q1 net profit rose 39.4% thanks to a solid performance in its main market in Mexico. Barclays (LON:BARC) has also reported a 27% jump to £1.78 billion in net profits for Q1, exceeding forecasts for a net profit of £1.432 billion In addition, Unilever (LON:ULVR) beat quarterly sales forecasts despite rising consumer prices, while chipmaker STMicroelectronics (EPA:STMPA) reported better-than-expected Q1 results,” added Trading Economics.
Asian markets also rose as “concerns over geopolitical tensions (eased) after China's President Xi Jinping made his first phone call to Ukrainian leader Zelensky since the Russian invasion.” The Hang Seng rose by 0.42%, the Shanghai Composite Index by 0.67% and the Nikkei by 0.15%.
Fears around the health of the global financial system caused the rand to weaken on Wednesday, trading around R18.40/USD, while the local bourse closed up by 0.30% before the public holiday, supported by the resource and financial sectors. Last night at 20h25 the rand firmed somewhat, trading at R18.29/USD.
The price of gold traded at $1 987.56 an ounce last night at 20h25, while a barrel of Brent crude traded at $78.14 at the same time.
