AEX starts lower in anticipation of US inflation figures

(ABM FN-Dow Jones) The Amsterdam stock market is bracing for a lower start on Thursday after the S&P 500 had to give up more than two percent on Wall Street on Wednesday evening.

AEX index futures were trading down 0.7 percent an hour before the gong. On Wednesday, the AEX was already down one percent to 677.26 points.

Wall Street initially traded in the green on Wednesday, but major indexes were forced to lose ground during the trading day, giving up big gains in previous trading sessions.

The acceleration of declines came as tech stocks took an extra hit after news that the crypto exchange had abandoned its acquisition of finance rival FTX.com. FTX clients may have lost their money and cryptos were under severe pressure for the second day in a row with losses of up to ten percent.

Major investors including Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global and Softbank have invested in FTX, and market analysts suspect that the depreciation of tens of billions of dollars in cryptos has led to margin calls, which may have led to forced stock sales.

With control of both houses of Congress, the lack of a decisive Republican victory in the midterm elections has led to uncertainty on the trade floor. For now, Republicans seem headed for a majority in the House of Representatives, while the two parties appear to be tied so far in the Senate.

Wall Street expects a Republican victory to benefit stock ratings because it would reduce regulatory uncertainty, reduce the prospect of higher corporate taxes and cut government spending to help control inflation.

Weak inflation may reduce the need for the central bank to raise rates aggressively.

In this regard, investors are eagerly awaiting the release of US inflation for October, scheduled for 2:30 PM today, which could have a major impact on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy and the prospects for a year-end rally. Inflation in the US was 8.2 percent on an annual basis in September. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected the annual inflation rate to be 7.9 percent in October and 0.6 percent on a monthly basis.

In recent months, the release of inflation figures has often led to large price fluctuations.

In Asia, major indexes were sluggish this morning. Hong Kong’s most volatile stock market was the biggest loser with a 1.7 percent loss. Sydney and Seoul limit damage to half a percent loss.

December West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 3.5 percent, or $3.08, to $85.83 on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday, after the latest data from the U.S. Energy Agency’s EIA showed U.S. crude inventories rose last week.

Company news

Aegon posted a smaller-than-expected loss in the third quarter of 2022.

Although the decline in EBITDA was better than expected, ArcelorMittal saw its profits decline faster than expected in the third quarter of 2022.

On turnover of 1.8 billion euros last quarter, Aperam posted adjusted EBITDA of 235 million euros. So the decline was less than expected.

In response to last quarter’s results, SBM Offshore again raised its outlook for 2022 completion.

IMCD saw a sharp rise in its revenue and profit in the first nine months of this year.

Wall Street closing levels

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 fell 2.1 percent to 3,748.59, the Dow Jones lost 2.0 percent to 32,513.94, and the Nasdaq lost 2.5 percent to 10,353.17.

Source: ABM Financial News