1. Wall Street is preparing to end a strong but weak quarter
Traders work on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, March 30, 2022. Brendan McDermid Reuters US stocks traded slightly lower on Thursday as bond yields and oil prices fell. The major international oil producers in OPEC + insisted on a modest increase in crude oil production after their meeting amid reports that the US was considering releasing supply from its strategic oil reserves. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 broke a four-session winning streak and the Nasdaq fell for the first time in three days. With one day left for March, all three stock benchmarks were consistently higher for the month. However, as the wild first quarter draws to a close, Wall Street was watching the first three months of 2022.
Shares of the Dow Apple rose in the premarket, this morning after seeing the 18% profit series of 11 sessions complete. The Walgreens Boots Alliance, also a Dow stock, fell 1% in Thursday’s premarket shortly after gaining better-than-expected earnings. The results were aided by increased demand for booster vaccines and Covid trials due to the spread of the omicron variant during the winter months.
2. Oil sinks after slight increase in OPEC + production, reports of US crude release
The OPEC logo is depicted before an informal meeting between members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Algiers, Algeria. Ramzi Boudina | Reuters West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark for crude oil, fell 6 percent to about $ 101 a barrel on Thursday, even after OPEC + agreed to raise production targets by 432,000 barrels a day. Energy analysts widely expected the group to point to another modest increase. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden is due to comment on Thursday, with media outlets detailing plans to release 1 million barrels of oil a day for several months from America’s Strategic Oil Reserve.
The move will be aimed at easing oil and gas prices that have risen due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and subsequent supply concerns, leading to bursts of inflation around the world economy. Russia is a major oil exporter – and unprecedented sanctions for its unprovoked war have disrupted flows.
3. Yield spreads remain stable after hot inflation and moderate jobs data
Bond yields fell on Thursday, but key spreads – 5-year and 30-year as well as 2-year and 10-year – remained narrow. The 5-year bond yield reversed earlier this week and exceeded the 30-year yield, a market distortion that often occurred before the recession. The yield on the 10-year benchmark bond fell to 2.3%, falling from almost three-year highs.
The Federal Reserve’s favorite inflation meter, the core consumer price index, rose 5.4% year-on-year in February, slightly lower than expected, but from the largest increase in the previous month since spring 1983. Markets The central bank will become more aggressive with rising interest rates to fight inflation after rising borrowing costs earlier this month for the first time in more than three years. A day before the March employment report, the government said Thursday morning that initial jobless claims for the week ended March 26 had risen to 202,000. Last week’s measurement was revised slightly higher to 188,000, still around a 52-year low.
4. The President of Ukraine asks for more help to repel Russia
The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses the Ukrainian people as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 28, 2022. Presidential Press Service of Ukraine Reuters Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his nation’s tough defense against the Russian invasion was at a “turning point” and called on the United States again for more help. Talks on the ceasefire, which took place face-to-face this week and sparked hopes, are set to resume via video on Friday. Russia is downgrading and seems to have backtracked on its commitment to restrict certain businesses. Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with the leader of the Ingush Republic Makhmud-Ali Kalimatov in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, March 30, 2022. Mikhail Klimentiev Sputnik Reuters Newly declassified US intelligence services show that Russian President Vladimir Putin feels he has been misled by military leaders who have not told him key details about the failed invasion of Ukraine for fear of angering him, senior Ba’athist leaders have said. This communication failure “has led to persistent tensions between Putin and his military leadership,” White House communications director Kate Bendingfield told reporters.
5. Covid asylum limits may expire. Biden urges approval of vaccine funds
The Biden administration is expected to end the US-Mexico asylum border imposed by May 23 to prevent the spread of Covid, according to the Associated Press, citing sources familiar with the matter. The decision, which is not yet final, will stop the use of public health powers to relieve the United States of its obligations under US law and the international treaty to provide shelter to those fleeing persecution. US President Joe Biden receives second coronary artery vaccine (COVID-19) after his remarks on COVID-19 at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the South Court Auditorium at the White House in Washington, DC, March 30, 2022 . Kevin Lamarque | Reuters Biden has warned that the United States will not have enough doses of Covid vaccine this fall to provide free and easy access for all Americans if Congress fails to spend the $ 22.5 billion in additional funding requested by the United States. government. Biden also said Wednesday that the United States has enough reserves to ensure that people eligible for fourth shots have access to them, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended another round of aid this week. – CNBC reporters Melissa Repko, Elliot Smith, Sam Meredith, Christina Wilkie and Spencer Kimball, as well as the Associated Press and Reuters, contributed to this report. – Join the CNBC Investing Club now to follow every Jim Cramer stock move. Follow the broader market action as a professional on CNBC Pro.
