April 21, 2024

Early trading saw oil spike more than 3 per cent and Middle East tensions take centre stage until the limited nature of Israel’s retaliation against Iran became apparent, easing concerns of any further escalation in the region and calming markets. The Nasdaq was the worst-performing index, closing down 2.05 per cent, while the S&P 500 […]

Nasdaq suffered its sixth straight losing day on Friday, the longest downtrend in more than a year. Tech giants like Nvidia and the much-diminished Tesla slid. Adding to that, the fading aftermath of Israel’s retaliation against Iran and a growing belief that there will be no rate cuts from the Fed until September at the

The US first-quarter reporting season accelerates. Up to Friday, 14 companies in the S&P 500 had reported so far, and this week they will be joined by another 158 (or more than 30% of the index), as well as 11 of the 30 companies in the Dow. This week, look for figures from the likes

Inflation dominates market thinking again this week, along with the first estimate of US March quarter economic growth. There are also events in the Middle East for investors to continue to worry about, while earnings interest turns to four of the Magnificent Seven – well, three, if you exclude a tanking Tesla. America’s most important

One of those weeks (there are four of them) when the most accurate consumer price inflation data comes around—a sure generator of a lot of words, forecasts, and guesses. This week it’s the CPI for the March quarter, the producer price data for the same period, and the CPI indicator for March. AMP chief economist,

Like gold, oil ran up and then down as the news of the Israeli reply to Iran’s attack earlier in the week waxed and waned in terms of tensions. The news, which broke during Asian trading, seemed tailor-made for oil and other commodities such as gold—up they went—then eased when it became clear Iran saw