Wall Street began the trading week with little change as it awaited the release of US inflation data on Wednesday evening. Market analysts predicted an increase of 0.4% on a monthly basis and 3.4% annually. The Nasdaq was up 0.3%, the Dow Jones down 0.2%, and the S&P 500 trading close to baseline levels.
European stock markets saw declines, with Britain’s FTSE and Germany’s DAX falling by 0.2% each and France’s CAC closing down by 0.1%. On Wall Street, meme stocks such as Gamestop soared by 80%, sparking interest in other meme stocks like AMC and Reddit, while oil prices surged amid tensions in the Middle East, with Brent oil trading at $83.8 a barrel and American oil jumping to $79.4 a barrel. Bitcoin stood at $62,800 per coin, while Ether was traded at $2,960 per coin.
Early trading in New York saw Wall Street open higher with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 up by 0.3% each and the Nasdaq climbing by 0.4%. Meme stock Gamestop jumped by over half, while other stocks like Aram, Intel, Tesla, and Dark showed varying changes on Wall Street futures were stable with bond yields in the US falling slightly; crypto and commodity prices fluctuated.
Asian stock exchanges also had a mixed trend after China released its inflation data for April which showed higher than expected rates for March.
The European markets strengthened their declines as they anticipated US inflation data that was expected to show a return to moderation after being higher than forecasts in recent months.
Overall, this week has been characterized by fluctuations across global financial markets as investors wait for significant developments in various sectors ranging from technology to energy production.
