Financial Analyst/Content Writer, RADEX MARKETS
Lawrence J. came from a strong technical and engineering background before pivoting into a more financial role later on in his career. Always interested in international finance, Lawrence is experienced in both traditional markets as well as the emerging crypto markets. He now serves as the financial writer for RADEX MARKETS.
AKCJA
As of this morning, Project Freedom is now in effect in the waters of the Persian Gulf. Late last night, President Trump announced new measures to ensure the safety of ships transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, which include escorting neutral ships in and out of the strategic passage. Many ships have been left stranded as a result of the ongoing hostilities and the recent announcement seeks to address the matter. The operation will run parallel to the US naval blockade already in place and, according to Central Command, will include over 100 sea and land-based aircraft, unmanned platforms and 15 thousand service members.
Financial markets have begrudgingly awarded a nod of approval so far, with crude oil prices falling early in the Asian session. The Brent Crude benchmark is currently oscillating around $108 per barrel, while WTI contracts are trading for around $101 after seeing lows of $99 per barrel earlier in the day. Asian stock markets were cautiously optimistic as trading got underway, with South Korean and Taiwanese indices hitting record highs, while the Nikkei 225 remains closed due to a national holiday.
Last week was a huge one for quarterly earnings, with five of the magnificent seven reporting their latest financial wins and losses. While results were generally strong across the board, the ensuing fallout in stock performance tells a different story. Google was the uncontested winner, with shares in Alphabet (GOOG) surging 10% last Thursday, crowning the company’s best month in decades. Alphabet rose 33% in April, adding over a trillion dollars to its market capitalisation, and is the best performer of the year among the tech giant roster. Apple (AAPL) also saw a decent rally last Friday, following the publication of its own report card, raising 3.2% by the daily close. On the other end of the spectrum, Microsoft (MSFT) and META saw dismal losses, the former shedding 3.9% and the latter collapsing 8.6% last Thursday. The colossal flows of capital flooding into AI projects have not spooked markets just yet, but the connection between spending and revenue is beginning to play on the minds of many investors, particularly when looking at Meta’s spending habits. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indices closed out the week at record highs, as technology stocks continue to dominate market movements.
A significant breakthrough occurred late last week in the cryptocurrency sphere. For months, there has been a raging debate between crypto companies and US banks regarding the former’s ability to provide yield on deposits. Companies such as Coinbase currently offer their users rewards for holding stablecoins but this is something that traditional banks have challenged. Last Friday, Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks appeared to have negotiated a compromise, the gist of which would be to ban yield on stablecoin deposits but allow companies to pay out rewards based on platform or network activity. A number of crypto companies already implement such practices, for example by giving traders the option to pay reduced fees via a token native to the exchange. The contention surrounding stablecoin yield has held up the Clarity Act for months, but the latest concession may finally remove the final roadblock, potentially paving the way for the act to be written into law, possibly as early as this month.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange is currently enjoying an extended break due to Japan’s Golden Week, which will not see markets reopen until Thursday. May Day in China will likewise see Chinese exchanges shuttered until Wednesday, while the London Stock Exchange will also remain closed today, leaving markets with very little liquidity this morning. Tomorrow morning the Reserve Bank of Australia is expected yet again to raise rates on the Aussie dollar, this time to 4.35%. US home sales and the ISM services PMI follow later in the day, along with the latest JOLT survey. The mid-week has very little to offer, but Friday will deliver April non-farm payrolls, with expectations sitting at 73k new jobs. The earnings calendar is much quieter this week, with the exception of Palantir (PLTR) on Monday and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) on Tuesday. For now, gazes are once again returning to the Middle East.
Handel instrumentami pochodnymi oraz produktami lewarowanymi wiąże się z wysokim ryzykiem i może prowadzić do strat przekraczających wartość początkowej inwestycji. Przed rozpoczęciem handlu należy zapoznać się z naszymi Warunkami i Zasadami (T&C) oraz Dokumentem ujawniającym informacje o produkcie (PDS).
OTWÓRZ KONTO