Azerbaijan oil production
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This report comes from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open keeps investors updated on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see?You can subscribe here.
What you need to know today
Weak start to quarter
Japanese shares led Asian losses on Friday, tracking Wall Street Ahead of the key jobs report, another Fed official this week lowered expectations for an imminent rate cut, sparking a sell-off.this Nikkei 225 Index The KOSPI fell more than 2%, while the KOSPI fell 1%.Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index It edged up 0.1%, while mainland China’s stock market was closed for a public holiday. Oil prices climb, West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil May delivery price exceeded US$86 per barrel, Brent June delivery prices hit $90.65 per barrel, the highest level since October 20. Dow Jones Industrial Average It closed down 1.35% to 38,596.98 points on Thursday, the largest drop since March 2023 and the fourth consecutive day of losses.
Employment report preview
Economists expect U.S. nonfarm payrolls to be 200,000 in March, due on Friday morning, according to the Dow Jones consensus forecast. That would be down from the initial 275,000 in February but still points to a solid pace of hiring. Investors will likely look to any other information that suggests fundamental weakness in the labor market for clues on whether the Fed will delay a rate cut.
Yellen in China
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen kicked off her first full day of formal meetings in China by discussing overcapacity and encouraging Chinese officials to pursue market-oriented reforms. “Overcapacity is not a new problem, but it has intensified and we are seeing risks emerging in new industries,” Yellen said in a prepared speech at an American Chamber of Commerce in China event in Guangzhou.
French fries hehe
Samsung Electronics said on Friday that it expects first-quarter operating profit to surge 931% as chip prices rebound. The profit guidance of KRW 6.6 trillion (USD 4.89 billion) even exceeded LSEG’s forecast of KRW 5.24 trillion.
Tech companies layoffs again
Apple will lay off 614 employees in California, marking the company’s first round of significant layoffs since the pandemic began, according to a new state filing. Apple has not been forced to cut jobs like its tech rivals in large part because it has not been expanding as aggressively during the Covid-19 pandemic. While the filing did not specify which business units Apple plans to cut numbers, the announcement comes just weeks after the company canceled a long-running program for electric self-driving cars.
(PRO) Upgrade before profit
Analysts became more bullish on six global stocks this week, raising price targets ahead of quarterly earnings season.
bottom line
Some of the usual Haven suspects were suspiciously popular this week.
gold Prices reached new highs this week.Even people in trouble yen The pair gained a rare respite against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, rebounding from levels that many feared could trigger government intervention.
Geopolitical tensions are rising in the Middle East as oil prices soar to their highest levels in more than five months.
According to reports, Israel Prepare for retaliatory attacks It is speculated that an Israeli airstrike on the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus killed several Iranian generals.
All of this comes as U.S. stocks – which have outperformed over the past 12 months – have corrected this week after a weak start to the second quarter.
Continuous comments from Federal Reserve officials this week have also weakened hopes for a first rate cut, with markets expecting the Fed to cut interest rates for the first time at its June meeting.
along with CBOE Market Volatility Index Hitting its highest since late last year, some investors appeared to be hedging their positions in anticipation of greater volatility ahead.
The risk aversion is palpable.
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