Market reviews

Should markets increasingly expect an actual Fed rate cut in Q3 2023, or even an official pause on the Fed rate-hiking cycle at its next policy meeting in May (52% chance of such an occurrence), that should help the Nasdaq 100 officially lay claim to a bull market.

Governments and central banks across major economies are scrambling to limit the knock-on effects from the rapid collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a key financier of the tech and startup ecosystem around the world.

However, this latest iteration is likely to succumb to fundamental drivers over the course of this month that are set to have a greater influence rather than technical signs.

At the time of writing, the futures contracts for the S&P 500 are extending February’s declines into this month. At the time of writing, the benchmark index for US stock markets has gone below the widely-watched 100-day and 200-day simple moving averages (SMA), having earlier already broken below the uptrend line from October’s trough.

Tech stocks have taken the latest FOMC minutes in its stride, despite already having dropped considerably over the past week over fears of a more-hawkish-than-expected Federal Reserve.

The world’s largest crypto has punched to its highest levels since August, with crypto-linked stocks also soaring in tandem on Wednesday.

This report is the singular most important data point for the Fed so is fully expected to move markets.

Disney’s stocks soared by as much as 11.9% in after-hours trading, after announcing a major shakeup.

Now that the latest FOMC meeting is behind us, equity markets are set to shift their attentions to the earnings due after US markets close on Thursday Feb 2^nd out of these three tech giants: Apple, Alphabet, and Amazon.

Mastercard is set to report its 4Q earnings in just a few hours, before US markets open today (Thursday, January 26^th).

Equity bulls will be hoping that the US economic data and the earnings support this risk-on narrative.

Netflix is set to announce its quarterly earnings after US markets close today (Thursday, January 19^th). Markets are predicting a move, either up or down, of 10.8% for the streaming giant’s shares when US market reopens on Friday, January 20^th.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is set to announce its latest quarterly results before US markets open on Friday, January 13^th.

The benchmark index for US stocks is having a restrained start to the new year so far. Tuesday’s declines of 0.4% were offset by Wednesday’s 0.75% advance at the close.