A look at the day ahead in US and global markets by Mike Dolan.
With the macro image that returns the fog, streaming giant Netflix (NFLX.O) generated a rare bright spark in an otherwise gloomy corporate earnings season.
Netflix shares rose 7% in after-hours trading after the company said it took on more subscribers than expected — about 7.7 million — at the end of last year. , while co-founder Reed Hastings stepped down as chief executive and handed the reins to his longtime partner. Ted Sarandos and chief operating officer Greg Peters.
One of the stock market darlings of the pandemic blocks, Netflix has then almost 70% between the end of 2021 and the beginning of last year due to a combination of falling subscribers and stiffer competition, and also the ‘increase in inflation and interest rates that have tightened the budgets of families.
But it has returned more than 60% from the lows of last June and the leadership bet can not make the way forward.
With the aggregate income of the S&P500 following an annual contraction of about 3% for the fourth quarter, the news of Netflix was welcomed. State Street and Schlumberger are among the companies reporting later on Friday.
Corporate news was less benign in crypto.
The lending unit of the crypto company Genesis filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States from creditors on Thursday, shaken by a market rout with the likes of the FTX exchange and the lender BlockFi. Genesis’ credit unit said it had both assets and liabilities in the $1 billion to $10 billion range, and estimated it had more than 100,000 creditors in its bankruptcy court filing. the United States for the Southern District of New York.
In broader markets, a tough Thursday showed some retreat from early-year optimism about central bank interest rates.
Federal Reserve officials have been resolute all week in insisting that policy rates will rise above 5% this year from the current range of 4.25-4.50% and will not come down until 2024 .
Markets still doubt them and futures markets only pushed their implied “terminal rate” up to 4.9% overnight, while prices are still almost half a percentage point of cuts in the second half of the year
The latest weekly US jobs reports show that the labor market is still too tight for many Fed policymakers to consider taking their foot off the brakes, with real wage growth turning positive after at about 18 months in red.
Central bankers in Europe also doubled down on their dovish policy message this week, with European Central Bank officials pushing back against reports that it was set to slow the pace of its economic growth. taxes next month.
Only the Bank of Japan offered some relief on that score this week, as it maintained its super-easy stance and the formal cap on government borrowing rates at least for now.
There was greater concern about the impending battle over the US debt ceiling. The US government reached its $31.4 trillion borrowing limit on Thursday, amid a clash between the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and President Joe Biden’s Democrats over raising the ceiling, which could lead to a fiscal crisis in a few months.
With many investors likely to avoid short-term debt instruments and related cash-management vehicles until the issue is resolved, the strongest reflection of concern this week was the largest inversion in the yield curve since 3 months to 10 years. 40 years
Elsewhere, world stocks were steadier at higher on Friday. Chinese stocks gained ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday next week, as strong foreign inflows boosted sentiment after the country said the worst was over in its battle against COVID-19.
Key developments that may provide direction to US markets later on Friday:
* Retail sales in Canada Nov
* Federal Reserve Board Governor Christopher Waller and Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker both speak
* US corporate earnings: State Street, Schlumberger, Huntington Bancshares, Regions Financial
by Mike Dolan; Edited by Toby Chopra
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