Banque Bemo L : Daily Markets Brief

Daily Market Brief

January 24th 2023

FOREIGN EXCHANGE MARKETS

(Sources: Bloomberg / Forexlive)

EURUSD

The EUR/USD pair touched its highest level since April on Monday, albeit struggled to find acceptance above the 1.0900 mark and finally settled with only modest intraday gains. The shared currency was underpinned by more hawkish comments by European Central Bank (ECB) officials, signalling additional jumbo interest rate hikes in coming months. In fact, ECB governing council member Klaas Knot said that interest rates would rise by 50 bps in both February and March and continue climbing in the months after.

GBPUSD

The GBP/USD pair is displaying topsy-turvy moves around 1.2380 as investors are awaiting the release of the S&P PMI number for the United States and the United Kingdom for fresh impetus. The Cable is demonstrating signs of volatility contraction as market sentiment has been caught by caution.

USDJPY

USD/JPY slides towards 130.00 during the initial hour of Tokyo opening on Tuesday. In doing so, the Yen pair justifies slightly positive activity data from Japan, as well as optimism surrounding the Covid conditions in the Asian major, not to forget the recent weakness in the US Treasury bond yields.

INTERNATIONAL EQUITY MARKETS

(Sources: Bloomberg / Reuters)

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Wall Street closed sharply higher on Monday, fueled by surging technology stocks as investors began an earnings-heavy week with a renewed enthusiasm for market-leading momentum stocks that were battered last year. Chips surge on Barclay's upgrade.

EUROPE

European stocks climbed on Monday, with technology firms spearheading gains, as optimism about the eurozone economy likely avoiding a steep recession overshadowed hawkish remarks from European Central Bank (ECB) officials.

ASIA

Japan's Nikkei share average jumped more than 1% on Monday, taking cues from a rally on Wall Street last week, with chip-related stocks leading gains.

MUST READ

(Source: Bloomberg/ Forexlive)

Lael Brainard sees high rates ahead even with progress on inflation

Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard said that interest rates need to remain high, even though there are signs inflation is starting to ease. Echoing recent comments from her fellow policymakers, Brainard insisted that the Fed won't waiver in its commitment to taming prices that have come down some in recent months but remain near four-decade highs. "Even with the recent moderation, inflation remains high, and policy will need to be sufficiently restrictive for some time to make sure inflation returns to 2% on a sustained basis," she said in remarks prepared for a speech in Chicago. Her comments come less than two weeks before the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee holds its next meeting, on Jan. 31- Feb. 1. Markets are assigning a near-100% probability that the FOMC will raise its benchmark interest rate another quarter percentage point, taking it to a target range of 4.5%-4.75%, according to CME Group data. That, however, would represent another less-severe step in the Fed's move to tighten monetary policy. As Brainard put it, the FOMC in December "downshifted" the level of its rate increases to half a point, after three consecutive increases of three-quarters of a percentage point. "This will enable us to assess more data as we move the policy rate closer to a sufficiently restrictive level, taking into account the risks around our dual mandate goals," she said. Brainard pointed to a number of areas where she sees inflation starting to come down.

Fx rates	Last	High	Low	% Daily	% Weekly	% YTD
EUR-USD	1.0888	1.0889	1.0868	0.15	0.93	1.71
GBP-USD	1.2404	1.2406	1.2374	0.20	0.96	2.66
USD-JPY	130.12	130.73	130.05	-0.42	-1.54	0.77
USD-CHF	0.9212	0.9227	0.9209	-0.07	0.10	0.36
Commodities	Last	High	Low	% Daily	% Weekly	% YTD
Silver	23.62	23.64	23.38	0.68	-1.30	-1.41
Crude Oil	81.52	81.88	81.42	-0.12	1.33	1.33
Bitcoin	23113.83	23163.40	22869.53	0.50	10.38	39.75
Etherium	1636.25	1641.44	1622.62	0.27	5.89	36.43
Period		1 M	3 M			12 M
EURIBOR		2.00	2.42			3.33
* USD LIBOR rates will be discontinued after June 30, 2023 and will be replaced by SOFR
Notes/Bonds		2 Y	10 Y			30 Y
US		4.22	3.51			3.68
BTP - BUND		0.41	1.82			2.03
GILTS		3.47	3.36			3.71
Index	Close	% Daily	% M	YTD	Futures	% Change
S&P	4019.81	1.19	4.55	4.70	4037.50	0.02
Nasdaq	11364.41	2.01	8.25	8.58	11933.00	-0.01
DJ EuroStoxx50	4150.82	0.75	8.75	9.42	4173.00	0.31
FTSE 100	7784.67	0.18	4.17	4.47	7786.00	0.17
CAC 40	7032.02	0.52	8.10	8.62	6996.90	N/A
DAX	15102.95	0.46	8.34	8.47	15202.00	0.28
IBEX 35	8944.10	0.29	8.16	8.69	8901.40	N/A
FTSE MIB	25821.45	0.18	8.14	8.92	25899.00	N/A
Nikkei	27299.19	1.46	4.06	4.62	27270.00	1.45
Hang Seng	22044.65	1.82	12.51	11.44	21985.00	0.00
DFM General	3349.95	0.14	1.16	0.55	N/A	N/A
MSCI Tadawoul	10765.77	0.38	5.38	2.74	N/A	N/A
	PRIOR_CLOSE_MID		CHG_PC CHG_PC CHG_PCT_
Leb. Mrkts	Closing Px	High	Low	% Daily	% Weekly	YTD
Solidere B	62.80	63.00	62.10	0.48	1.70	4.06
		MAIN WEEKLY EARNINGS	(Source: Nasdaq)
Company	Ticker	Market Cap	Date	Time	Estimate	Year Ago
Microsoft	MSFT US	$1.7 T	24-Jan-23	After-mkt	2.29	2.48
Johnson & Johnso	JNJ US	$450.6 B	24-Jan-23	Pre-mkt	2.22	2.13
Verizon Communi	VZ US	$171.5 B	24-Jan-23	Pre-mkt	1.21	1.31
Texas Instruments	TXN US	$158. B	24-Jan-23	After-mkt	1.96	2.27
General Electric	GE US	$112.6 B	24-Jan-23	Pre-mkt	1.10	0.92
		ECONOMIC CALENDER	(Source: Forexlive)

(24-01-23) DE- Gfk Consumer Confidence Survey FEB

(24-01-23) FR- S&P Global Manufacturing, Composite PMI JAN preliminar

(24-01-23) DE- S&P Global/BME Composite, Services, Manufacturing PMI JAN

(24-01-23) EA- S&P Global Composite, Manufacturing, Services PMI JAN preliminar

(24-01-23) GB- S&P Global/CIPS Services, Manufacturing, Composite PMI JAN

(24-01-23) US- S&P Global Services, Composite, Manufacturing PMI JAN preliminar

(25-01-23) GB- PPI Core Output YoY, MoM n.s.a DEC

CONTACT	Banque BEMO sal
Asset Management Unit

Ashrafieh, Elias Sarkis Ave., BEMO Bldg, 4th Floor P.O.Box 16-6353 Beirut, Lebanon

Tel: [phone]

Disclaimer: This report is published for information purposes only. The information herein has been compiled from, or based upon sources we believe to be reliable, but we do not guarantee or accept responsibility for its completeness and accuracy. This document should not be construed as a solicitation to take part in any investment, or as constituting any representation or warranty on our part. The investment risks described herein are not purported to be exhaustive, any person considering an investment should seek independent advice on the suitability or otherwise of the particular investment. Investment, Capital Market and Treasury products are subject to Investment risk, including possible loss of principal amount invested. Past performance is not indicative of future results: prices can go up or down. Investors investing in investments and/or treasury products denominated in foreign (non-local) currency should be aware of the risk of exchange rate fluctuations that may cause loss of principal when foreign currency is converted to the investor's home currency. Client understands that it is his/her responsibility to seek legal and/or tax advice regarding the legal and tax consequences of his/her investment transactions. The consequences of any action taken on the basis of finformation contained herein are solely the responsibility of the recipient.