Stock markets were mixed on Wednesday as investors digested various economic indicators and company reports, while Bitcoin traded near record highs in anticipation of the upcoming US presidential election.
The three major US stock indexes remained unchanged throughout the morning, but all rose slightly during the day. Major European markets closed sharply lower across the board.
Google’s parent company Alphabet reported strong results after Tuesday’s close, rising about 6% in New York, but that was outweighed by disappointing results and guidance from tech company AMD, which fell more than 9%, and pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly. This was exceeded by a decline of more than 7%. .
Microsoft and Facebook parent company Meta will report later Wednesday.
On the economic front, the U.S. economy grew at a healthy annual rate of 2.8% in the third quarter, although it was weaker than analysts expected and slowed slightly from the previous quarter.
“Although the initial third-quarter GDP report missed economists’ expectations, the deviation was minor and reaffirmed the continued strength of the U.S. economy,” said Brett Kenwell, an analyst at eToro. said.
The Federal Reserve’s most preferred measure of inflation will be released on Thursday, followed by the monthly labor and employment report on Friday.
In the euro zone, Paris and Frankfurt fell by more than 1%.
“Investors are not looking to increase their exposure to equity markets given the lack of a clear lead from the US, where consolidation is mainstream today,” said Trade Nation analyst David Morrison. No,” he said.
The eurozone economy grew by a better-than-expected 0.4% in the third quarter, the euro zone said on Wednesday. But City Index analyst Fawad Razakzada said the surge was mainly due to temporary factors such as the Olympics, and next quarter’s report may not be as rosy.
“Recent forward-looking surveys are not great and suggest that the eurozone economy remains weak at the start of the fourth quarter,” he said.
Outside the euro zone, London’s stock market fell, although not as much as in Paris or Frankfurt, after Britain’s New Labor government announced a £40 billion tax increase and a reduction in next year’s budget deficit.
UBS shares fell more than 4% after the Swiss bank highlighted a bleak economic outlook despite posting healthy profits in the third quarter.
Asia’s top indexes ended mostly lower, while the dollar was mixed against major rival markets in foreign exchange.
Bitcoin stabilized a day after coming just shy of the all-time high of $73,797.98 reached in March.
The recent surge in Bitcoin prices is seen as a bet that the Republican Party will win next week’s U.S. vote, with Donald Trump emerging as a pro-crypto candidate.
However, the outcome of the poll remains uncertain for many analysts, which pushed the price of investment gold to a new all-time high of $2,789.86 an ounce on Wednesday. Both candidates’ economic plans are expected to significantly increase the U.S. debt burden.
Oil prices rebounded following an unexpected decline in U.S. oil reserves, despite persistent concerns about whether there will be enough takers for the expected increase in global oil production next year.
“Oil prices appear to be ignoring improving U.S. economic data and China’s stimulus efforts to revive its struggling economy,” said Daniela Sabin Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com. said.
– Main figures around 1640 GMT –
New York – Dow: up 0.3% to 42,387.77 points
New York – S&P 500: up 0.2% to 5,842.54
New York-Nasdaq Composite: up 0.1% to 18,734.64
London – FTSE 100: down 0.7% to 8,159.63 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: down 1.1% to 7,428.36 (close price)
Frankfurt – DAX: 1.1 down to 19,257.34 (close price)
Tokyo – Nikkei Stock Average: 1.0% higher at 39,277.39 (closing price)
Hong Kong Hang Seng Index: 1.6% lower at 20,380.64 (closing price)
Shanghai – Overall: down 0.6% to 3,266.24 (close price)
EUR/USD: up to $1.0863 from $1.0816 on Tuesday
GBP/USD: down from $1.3010 to $1.3006
Dollar/JPY: fell from 153.57 yen to 153.08 yen
EUR/GBP: up from 83.13p to 83.53p
Brent crude: up 2.3% to $72.77 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: up 2.5% to $68.90 per barrel
gv/CW
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