As we slowly approach the end of the results season, we found ourselves with elections for the Senate and House of Representatives in the United States, after which we would find out whether Joe Biden's party would retain its majority in those chambers. In addition, we encountered a slump in the cryptocurrency market caused by the problems of the FTX exchange.
Macroeconomic data
This week it seems that we were able to relax relatively after last week's FOMC decision to raise interest rates in the United States and the announced use of all means by the Fed to choke off inflation.
On Wednesday, we learned of the change in U.S. crude oil inventories, which rose by 3.25 million barrels (1.36 million barrels were expected) compared to the last period, in which they declined by 3.115 million barrels.
We learned the results of the CPI inflation rate, which amounted to 7.7% y/y. (forecast 8 percent y/y). It seems that inflation surprises for another month in a row, falling, which could be perceived as a positive signal for the markets.
Elections for the Senate and House of Representatives in the United States were held on Tuesday. The vote counting is still underway, but Republicans are in the lead in both chambers.
Stock market
On Monday, we were able to learn the results of gaming giants Activision Blizzard (Blizzard) and Take-Two (TakeTwo), among others. The former surprised positively, reporting earnings per share EPS of 0.68 (forecast 0.51). The second posted a loss per share EPS of -1.54 (forecast 1.38), in addition to reporting lower revenue than expected.
Source: MT5, Blizzard, Daily
On Tuesday, we learned the results of media giant Walt Disney (Disney), which reported a decline in earnings per share EPS to 0.3 (forecast 0.59). It seems that the entertainment industry is not doing well, which could support the thesis of the current economic slowdown.
Today we were also able to learn how the medical industry has performed recently. Among other things, we learned about reports from the maker of medications and vaccines AstraZeneca (AstraZeneca), which showed earnings per share more than doubled relative to expectations. Medical instrument and machine manufacturer Becton Dickinson (BDickinson) showed earnings per share of 1.99, in line with expectations, on increased revenues.
Elon Musk appears to be having problems with his workforce after taking over Twitter. After massive layoffs at the company, we could learn from the media about mistakes in this aspect and the dismissal of valuable employees, whom the billionaire seems to be trying to recruit back.
Currency and cryptocurrency market
After the publication of inflation from the US, the EUR/USD exchange rate broke out above parity and reached around 1.016 at its peak. It seems that the market needs to update its valuation when it comes to the announced US interest rate hikes, which may put pressure on the USD.
Source: MT5, EURUSD, Daily
Blood has been shed in the cryptocurrency market. After the largest crypto exchange Binance announced the sale of the FTT token (FTTUSD.p) belonging to the third largest FTX exchange, the price of the cryptocurrency fell from $26 to $2.7 (89 percent). This situation revealed the problems behind this exchange. This seems to have led to a massive outflow of capital from the virtual money market, as we could see from the largest of them. Bitcoin fell by more than 20 percent during this period, and the price of the second largest cryptocurrency ETH fell by about 28 percent.
Source: MT5, FTTUSD.p, Daily
What's in store for us next week?
On Monday we would learn the GDP reading in the Cherry Blossom country. The current quarter-on-quarter forecast is for growth of 0.3 percent (previously 0.9 percent). China's reported year-on-year change in industrial production may seem key. The forecast, according to analysts, is for an increase of 5.2 percent (previously 6.3 percent). On Tuesday, we'll learn the results of Germany's ZEW economic sentiment index, which recently reached -59.2 points, where values below zero signify deteriorating economic conditions. On Thursday, we would find out how much inflation in the Eurozone was (forecast at 10.7 percent).
Among the key Q3 earnings reports it seems we could count Monday's results from the largest retailer in the United States, Walmart (Walmart). On Tuesday, graphics card giant Nvidia (Nvidia) would present its report, along with one of the largest digital communications technology conglomerates Cisco (Cisco).
Grzegorz Dróżdż, Junior Market Analyst of Conotoxia Ltd. (Conotoxia investment service)
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