S&P500
COVID-19 statistics as of early February 11
US stock indexes closed in negative territory on Thursday following the release of US CPI data. Inflation in the United States reached 7.5% YoY in January.
The Dow Jones lost 1.5%, the NASDAQ declined by 2.1%, and the S&P 500 dropped by -1.8%.
Early on Friday, the S&P 500 futures lost 0.9%, suggesting the market is likely to retreat further on the last trading day of the week.
Asian markets were mixed early on Friday, with the Shanghai Composite shedding 0.1% and the Nikkei 225 adding 0.4%.
Crude oil declined by about $1.5 on disappointing US statistic data. The price of Brent crude is currently at $90.90 per barrel.
Fresh flower prices in the Netherlands are on the increase amid soaring natural gas and electricity prices in the EU.
The European Commission raised its outlook on inflation in 2022 to 3.9% from an earlier estimate of 2.5%. However, the EC expects inflation to fall below 2% in 2023.
The S&P 500 is trading at 4,504 and is expected to be in the 4,460-4,560 range.
The US inflation data for January has been disappointing for investors. The CPI gained 0.6% month-over-month in January, above a forecasted increase of 0.5%. The annual inflation is at 7.5%, reaching the highest level since 1982. This is a strong argument for the Fed to hike the rate as soon as possible, and a bearish factor for stocks. A rate increase in March is now seemingly unavoidable. The yield of US treasury bonds has reached 2% for the first time in 2 and a half years.
The net revenue of Coca-Cola jumped by 26% over the year, reaching $9.8 billion. Pepsi-Cola's revenue increased by 6% to $7.6 billion.
Twitter has reported a loss of $220 million over the year, despite rising revenues.
The number of Omicron cases remains high worldwide. 2.4 million infections were reported yesterday, mostly in Eastern Europe. Germany registered 240,000 new cases, Russia - 197,000, the US - 178,000. The state of New York and some countries in Europe have relaxed quarantine restrictions, which could delay the end of the ongoing wave of the pandemic.
In Canada, truckers protesting against mandatory quarantine for unvaccinated cross-border drivers have blocked the Ambassador Bridge near Detroit - the main transportation link between Canada and the United States. Due to supply disruption caused by the blockade, Ford and GM were forced to halt car production. The US government urged the Canadian authorities to use its federal powers to remove the blockade and restore cross-border traffic.
Following the hot inflation data, Fed officials are debating on the size of the upcoming interest rate increase. The regulator is expected to hike the rate in March by 0.5%.
According to weekly US employment data, the number of initial jobless claims decreased slightly to 223,000. The total number of unemployed remains at 1.62 million.
USDX is trading at 95.90 and is expected to be in the 95.60 - 96.20 range. The index made slight gains on yesterday's CPI report. The euro went down on the news, briefly rallied and reversed downwards. The pair is currently driven by the movements of the US dollar.
USD/CAD is trading at 1.2750 and is expected to be in the 1.2750-1.2850 range. The pair has upside potential, as rising US interest rates could propel it upwards.
The US stock market is likely to continue its decline on Friday, making opening long positions undesirable at the moment.