Ipek Ozkardeskaya
Swissquote Bank Ltd
Crude oil fully pared post-OPEC gains yesterday, as Saudi’s lonely production cuts and the quota transfer from African countries to UAE raised question about the hit-power and the health of the cartel.
As a result, the barrel of American crude fell below the $72pb mark. The risks are now tilted to the downside because the OPEC meeting was the major upside risk for oil bears and it’s cleared for now.
In equities, Apple revealed its much-expected VR headset yesterday, just after its stock price hit a record, but the $3500 headset failed to convince investors that it will be the next big thing.
Elsewhere in tech, Nasdaq 100 is up by more than 35% since the start of this year, and according to a Deutsche Bank report the volume of call-option buying in tech and Mega Cap Growth stocks is now approaching the highest levels of the pandemic era – despite the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) 500bp rate hike, and its pledge to do more.
For now, there is no major sign of a reversal in appetite for Big Tech, but we have signs that the major central banks are not done surprising to the hawkish side just yet. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) hiked the interest rates by 25bp to 4.10% at today’s meeting, defying economists’ expectations of status quo. The Aussie rallied.
In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin fell more than 5% yesterday after the SEC accused Binance and its CEO Zhao of being ‘engaged in an extensive web of deception, conflicts of interest, lack of disclosure and calculated evasion of the law’.
This report has been prepared by Swissquote Bank Ltd and is solely been published for informational purposes and is not to be construed as a solicitation or an offer to buy or sell any currency or any other financial instrument. Views expressed in this report may be subject to change without prior notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by Swissquote Bank Ltd personnel at any given time. Swissquote Bank Ltd is under no obligation to update or keep current the information herein, the report should not be regarded by recipients as a substitute for the exercise of their own judgment.
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