DIFX Buzz: Here’s a weekly market recap for you to start your Monday with the top news of the week.
Let’s see what happened in markets this week:
❖ Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony to Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday will likely be a focus.
❖ With the jobs data out later this week, it’s expected that he will stay away from any commitments to monetary policy.
❖ If we see nonfarm payrolls come higher than expected, we could expect a 50 basis point rate hike which will be bullish for the Dollar.
Equities
❖ The era of cheap funding is ending as central banks prioritize the fight against inflation. Investors are advised to switch from growth stocks to value stocks, including banks and consumer staples businesses that can sell goods at prices that match inflation.
❖ Tesla cuts prices of the Model S by 4% and the Model X by 9%. Musk has said he aims to bring prices down to drive demand.
❖ Monday trading saw S&P 500 futures gain 0.2% and Nasdaq futures up 0.4%.
Crypto
❖ Silvergate has been ordered to return close to $10mn to BlockFi as part of ongoing court proceedings.
❖ Tether has responded to reports that they tried to use false documents to open a bank account, calling these allegations “wholly inaccurate”.
❖ Warner Bros together with Immutable X launched a web3 mobile game called Blocklete Golf. This shows the backing of the Ethereum ecosystem from Warner Bros.
❖ Global aluminum producers have offered Japan a premium of $125-$145 per tonne for Q1 shipments. This would be the first increase in 6 quarters and would give the perception that production from automakers is about to increase.
❖ Investors are turning towards value shares such as energy companies benefiting from the reopening of China.
❖ Most base metals saw a decline in price action as China set a lower-than-forecasted growth target of 5% for the year.
❖ At the start of the week, Oil prices dipped, with Brent at $85.21 a barrel and U.S. crude at $79.09 per barrel.
