London, Monday, 3 January 2022 -
US Markets summary
The year 2022 began with a bang for Wall Street. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average both closed at all-time highs after increasing more than 0.6 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.2 percent. Investors were upbeat about the economy's revival, but they were keeping an eye on the rapid spread of the omicron coronavirus variety. On the corporate front, Tesla stock jumped more than 13% after the firm reported it delivered 308,600 units in the fourth quarter, exceeding expectations of 263,026. After Barclays upgraded Wells Fargo to "overweight" from "equal weight," the bank's stock rose more than 5%.
Apple also increased by more than 2%, becoming the first US firm to attain a market capitalization of $3 trillion. In 2021, the Dow Jones climbed by 18.7%, the Nasdaq increased by 21.4 percent, and the S&P 500 increased by 26.9%. The focus this year will be on monetary policy tightening, rising inflation, and midterm elections.
European Markets summary
As investors digested fresh PMI data while awaiting the FOMC meeting minutes due Wednesday, European stock indexes climbed on the first trading day of 2022, with Frankfurt's DAX 30 up over 1% to a six-week high and Paris' CAC 40 closing at a new high. According to the Markit PMI survey, manufacturing sector growth in the Eurozone slowed to a 10-month low in December, but remained healthy overall. Traders are increasingly focused on the US Federal Reserve's and other central banks' policy paths in the face of rising inflation and decreasing economic growth.
In other parts of the world, the coronavirus pandemic remained a source of worry, with the Omicron type spreading quickly but causing milder sickness. In other business developments, German food delivery company Delivery Hero announced on Friday that it had inked a deal to buy a 39.4 percent stake in Spanish delivery service Glovo. For the New Year's holiday, the stock markets in the United Kingdom and Ireland are closed.
U.S. Stock Market Indexes
S&P 500: +30.38 (+0.64%) to 4,796.56
Nasdaq: +187.83 (+1.20%) to 15,832.80
Dow Jones: +246.76 (+0.68%) to 36,585.06
European Stock Market Indexes
STOXX Europe 600: +2.19 (0.45%) at 489.99 as at Jan 3, 6:00 PM GMT+1
FTSE 100 in London: CLOSED on Monday 3 January. Last trading as at Dec 31, 12:35 PM GMT: −18.47 (0.25%) at 7,384.54
DAX 30 in Germany: +135.87 (0.86%) at 16,020.73 as at Jan 3, 5:55 PM GMT+1
CAC 40 in France: +64.19 (0.90%) at 7,217.22 as at Jan 3, 6:05 PM GMT+1
FTSE MIB 30 in Italy: +383.49 (1.40%) at 27,730.32 as at Jan 3, 5:36 PM GMT+1
IBEX 35 in Spain: +47.40 (0.54%) at 8,761.20 as at Jan 3, 5:38 PM GMT+1
Other markets
Ten-year U.S. Treasury note: +11.6 bps to yield 1.6280%
Dollar index: 0.26 0.28% at 96.23 as at Jan 3, 2022 at 5:38 p.m. EST
VIX volatility index: −0.62 (3.60%) at 16.60 as at Jan 3, 3:15 PM CST
Oil prices
Brent crude: -0.02 -0.03% at $78.96 per barrel as at Jan 3, 2022 at 10:59 p.m. GMT
West Texas Intermediate: -0.11 -0.14% at $75.98 per barrel as at Jan 3, 2022 at 6:02 p.m. EST
Precious metals
Gold: -25.15 or -1.38% at $1,803.31 an ounce
Silver: -0.39 or -1.66% at $22.91 an ounce
Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin: −919.50 (1.94%) at $46,379.50 as at Jan 3, 11:15 PM UTC
Ethereum: −70.64 (1.84%) at $ 3,758.49 as at Jan 3, 11:15 PM UTC
(Written and edited by: The Decision Maker)
