Washington (awp/afp) – Oil prices fell sharply on Thursday after Donald Trump called on Saudi Arabia and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to lower prices, while stocks maintained momentum positive.
“I’m going to ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to lower the cost of oil. I’m frankly surprised that they didn’t do it before the election. Not doing it wasn’t really a good idea. a proof of love If the price was lower, the war in Ukraine would be over immediately,” said Mr. Trump during an online speech to an audience of big business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos. .
Up slightly before the American president’s declaration, the price of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea, for delivery in March, lost 0.90% to $78.29.
Its American equivalent, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate, for delivery the same month, fell 1.09% to $74.62.
The stock markets, for their part, were trending upwards.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones gained 0.92% and the technologically colored Nasdaq index gained 0.22%.
The broader S&P 500 index rose 0.53% to peak at 6,118.71, its closing record. During the day, it also set a new session high.
In Europe, the day was also positive: Paris gained 0.70%, Frankfurt 0.74%, London 0.23% and Milan 0.72%. In Zurich, the SMI advanced by 0.47%.
The European session was mainly wait-and-see, with Donald Trump’s speech only starting at 4 p.m. GMT, shortly before the Old Continent’s markets closed (at 4:30 p.m. GMT).
On the American market, “the (equity) markets have not really evolved” following Mr. Trump’s speech, Angelo Kourkafas of Edward Jones told AFP.
The champion of “America first” reiterated his threats of increases in customs duties and increased protectionism towards major trading partners.
He also “demanded that interest rates be lowered immediately”, adding that they “should fall everywhere in the world”.
Donald Trump also reiterated that he considered it normal for officials at the Federal Reserve (Fed) to listen to him because “I know interest rates much better than they understand them.”
“The market knows that the president does not control interest rates,” Patrick O’Hare of Briefing.com told AFP.
-The next meeting of the Fed Monetary Policy Committee (FOMC) is scheduled for next Tuesday and Wednesday and should conclude with rates remaining at their current level, as inflation picks up again at the end of 2024 and that the labor market, the Fed’s other priority, remains very solid.
On the bond market, around 10:15 p.m. GMT, the yield on ten-year US government bonds stood at 4.64% compared to 4.61% the day before at closing, “which is still well below its high rate ( 4.80%) from last week,” said Mr. O’Hare.
The greenback stabilized, falling 0.02% to 1.0418 dollars per euro.
Semiconductors dropped ___
Companies in the semiconductor sector generally moved in the red, weighed down after South Korean giant SK Hynix, supplier to American chip giant Nvidia, published quarterly results considered insufficiently impressive.
At the opening, in New York, Nvidia dropped 1.34%, before erasing its losses, closing at 0.10%.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) fell 0.57% and Broadcom fell 0.26%. In Europe, ASML lost 4.38%, BE Semiconductor Industries 5.02% and ASM 2.74%.
Black day for Puma ___
German sportswear giant Puma plunged 22.81% in Frankfurt after publishing disappointing preliminary annual results.
The company reported an operating profit at the same level as the previous year (+622 million euros) and a net profit of 282 million euros, down from 305 million euros. euros in 2023 and less than expected by analysts.
In this context, the group announced the launch of a “cost reduction” program.
Elsewhere on the European stock market, JD Sports dropped 1.54%, Marks & Spencer 1.92%, H&M 0.70% and Associated British Foods, which owns Primark, dropped 2.97%.
afp/rp
Related News :