Bargain Hunting May Contribute To Initial Strength On Wall Street

[ADVFN]( [[Global Email] World Daily Markets Bulletin]( Friday, 18 February 2022 08:56:57 [ADVFN Twitter]( [Monitor]( [Quote]( [Charts]( [News]( [Toplists]( [Boards]( [How Pro Traders Actually Pick Their Stocks]( When a stock skyrockets, we're eager to see if it will continue to push higher or reverse course. And there is one way to know what's coming next, but it isn't what you think. It's the only guaranteed way to get answers. [Check out this must-see tool for predictive analysis.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- US Market Bitcoin [Bitcoin]( DAX [DAX]( Dow Jones [Dow Jones]( Nasdaq [Nasdaq]( The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open on Friday, with stocks likely to regain ground following the sell-off seen in the previous sessions. Bargain hunting may contribute to initial strength on Wall Street, as some traders look to pick up stocks at reduced levels following the steep drop seen on Thursday. The Dow had its worst day of 2022 in the previous session, while the S&P 500 saw its biggest daily percentage drop in two weeks. News that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken have agreed to meet in Europe next week may also help ease concerns about an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine. Buying interest may remain somewhat subdued, however, as geopolitical concerns and worries about the outlook for interest rates continue to weigh on investors? minds. Following the recovery attempt seen late in Wednesday?s sessions, stocks showed a substantial move back to the downside during trading on Thursday. The major averages all showed significant moves to the downside, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq helping to lead the way lower. The major averages saw further downside going into the close, ending the session near their worst levels of the day. The Dow tumbled 622.24 points or 1.8 percent to 34,312.03, the Nasdaq plunged 407.38 points or 2.9 percent to 13,716.72 and the S&P 500 dove 94.75 points or 2.1 percent to 4,380.26. The sell-off on Wall Street came amid renewed geopolitical concerns, as the Biden administration has reverted to describing a Russian invasion of Ukraine as "imminent." "The evidence on the ground is that Russia is moving toward an imminent invasion. This is a crucial moment," U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters this morning. President Joe Biden also told reporters as was leaving the White House that there is "every indication" that Russia is prepared to attack Ukraine. Adding to the concerns, the State Department said Russia has expelled the deputy chief of the U.S. diplomatic mission in Moscow. The latest developments come after Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists traded accusations of attacks in the eastern part of the country. Russian state-controlled media claimed that Ukrainian forces had shelled territory held by the separatists, while Ukraine has accused Russian-backed rebels of attacking a village in the region. Negative sentiment may also have been generated in reaction to the latest batch of U.S. economic data, including a Labor Department report showing an unexpected rebound in initial jobless claims in the week ended February 12th. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose to 248,000, an increase of 23,000 from the previous week's revised level of 225,000. The rebound surprised economists, who had expected jobless claims to edge down to 219,000 from the 223,000 originally reported for the previous week. The Commerce Department also released a report showing new residential construction in the U.S. pulled back sharply in the month of January. The report said housing starts tumbled by 4.1 percent to an annual rate of 1.638 million in January after inching up by 0.3 percent to a revised rate of 1.708 million in December. Economists had expected housing starts to edge down by 0.1 percent to a rate of 1.700 million from the 1.702 million originally reported for the previous month. Meanwhile, the report said building permits climbed by 0.7 percent to an annual rate of 1.899 million in January after spiking by 9.8 percent to a revised rate of 1.885 million in December. Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, had been expected to plunge by 6.0 percent to a rate of 1.760 million from the 1.873 million originally reported for the previous month. A separate report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia showed manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area expanded at a slower rate in the month of February. The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current activity slid to 16.0 in February from 23.2 in January, although a positive reading still indicates growth in regional manufacturing activity. Economists had expected the index to dip to 20.0. Semiconductor stocks showed a substantial move to the downside on the day, dragging the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down by 3.7 percent. Nvidia (NVDA) helped lead the sector lower as concerns about flat profit margins and the graphics chipmaker's exposure to the cryptocurrency market have overshadowed the company's better than expected fourth quarter results and upbeat guidance. A sharp pullback by treasury yields also weighed on the banking sector, resulting in a 3.7 percent nosedive by the KBW Bank Index. Housing stocks also saw significant weakness on the day, with the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index plunging by 3.1 percent. Biotechnology, airline and brokerage stocks also showed notable moves to the downside, while gold stocks bucked the downward trend amid a sharp increase by the price of the precious metal. --------------------------------------------------------------- [MUST SEE 'Set and Forget' Dividend Portfolio]( The easiest way to self-manage your dividend income portfolio without losing a ton of money is following my advice below. Dividend stocks I personally recommend and buy myself are meant to held for a long time. One of my current dividend payers to 'set and forget' for now is paying over 25% yields. There?s a process I follow to build this dividend portfolio that grows and ends up paying your bills for life. See how easy it is to follow. [Click here to see how this 'set and forget' dividend portfolio works.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. Economic Reports CADUSD [CADUSD]( Oil [Oil]( Gold [Gold]( EURUSD [EURUSD]( The National Association of Realtors is scheduled to release its report on existing home sales in the month of January at 10 am ET. Existing home sales are expected to decrease by 1.0 percent in January after plunging by 6.4 percent in December. Also at 10 am ET, the Conference Board is due to release its report on leading economic indicators in the month of January. The leading economic index is expected to rise by 0.3 percent. At 10:15 am ET, Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans is scheduled to speak on current economic conditions and monetary policy before the 2022 U.S. Monetary Policy Forum sponsored by the Initiative on Global Markets at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. New York Federal Reserve President John Williams is due to speak before a virtual event on the economic outlook organized by the New Jersey City University, Guarini Institute for International Education and Economic Mobility at 11 am ET. At 1:30 pm ET, Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard is scheduled to participate in a Central Bank Digital Currencies panel before the 2022 U.S. Monetary Policy Forum sponsored by the Initiative on Global Markets at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. --------------------------------------------------------------- Stocks in Focus Shares of Bloomin? Brands (BLMN) are moving sharply higher in pre-market trading after the parent of Outback Steakhouse other restaurant chains reported better than expected fourth quarter results, reinstated its quarterly dividend and announced a $125 million stock buyback. Heavy equipment maker Deere (DE) may also move to the upside after reporting fiscal first quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates and raising its full-year guidance. On the other hand, shares of Roku (ROKU) are seeing substantial pre-market weakness after the video streaming device maker reported better than expected fourth quarter earnings but revenues missed expectations. Roku also offered a disappointing outlook. Sports betting company DraftKings (DKNG) may also come under pressure after reporting fourth quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates but forecast a wider than expected full-year loss. --------------------------------------------------------------- Europe European stocks are turning in a mixed performance on Friday after reports of planned talks between Russia and the U.S. over Ukraine and Moscow's claims around a troop withdrawal. Steep losses on Wall Street overnight have served to keep underlying sentiment cautious to some extent. While the U.K.?s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.3 percent and the German DAX Index is down by 0.6 percent. Finnish drug manufacturer Orion has skyrocketed after announcing positive trial results for its prostate cancer treatment. Shares of Bayer have also shown a strong move to the upside after the drug maker boosted sales estimates for its prostate cancer treatment Nubeqa. Kingspan Group, an Irish building materials company, has also advanced after its fiscal 2021 profit climbed 48 percent. French carmaker Renault has also risen after it swung to profit in 2021 and announced the appointment of Thierry Piéton as Chief Financial Officer with effect from March 1. On the other hand, German insurer Allianz has moved lower after revealing it took a 3.7 billion euro hit to its pre-tax profits. Bank holding company NatWest Group has also shown a notable move to the downside after warning of an uncertain economic outlook. Swiss chemicals company Sika AG has also fallen after confirming its previous target of 6-8 percent annual growth up to 2023. Multinational cinema operator Cineworld has also moved lower. The company said it has reached an agreement with creditors over a disputed and delayed repayment. Luxury group Hermes has also come under pressure after its fourth-quarter sales came in a tad lower than expectations. In economic news, the euro area current account surplus decreased to 23 billion euros in December from 24 billion euros in the previous month, the European Central Bank said. U.K. retail sales volume grew 1.9 percent month-on-month, in contrast to the revised 4 percent decline in December, separate data showed. This was faster than the expected growth of 1.0 percent. On a yearly basis, overall retail sales advanced 9.1 percent, reversing a 1.7 percent fall in December. --------------------------------------------------------------- Do you have a full view of the market? Level 2 lets you see all of the orders to buy and sell shares, allowing you to see what is really going on in the market. If you don?t have this in your trading toolkit, you?re at a serious disadvantage. [Learn More / Upgrade]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Asia USDCAD [USDCAD]( USDEUR [USDEUR]( USDGBP [USDGBP]( USDJPY [USDJPY]( Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Friday, but losses were limited after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken accepted an invitation to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov late next week. China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 22.72 points, or 0.7 percent, to 3,490.76 as property developers gained ground after more cities eased mortgage rules for home buyers. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 465.06 points, or 1.9 percent, to 24,327.71 after the Biden administration added several major Chinese businesses to a list of counterfeiters. Japanese stocks cut losses to end modestly lower as fears of war in Ukraine receded. The Nikkei 225 Index ended down 110.80 points, or 0.4 percent, at 27,122.07, while the broader Topix closed 0.4 percent lower at 1,924.31. Factory robot maker Fanuc led losses to close 5.8 percent lower. Tech stocks such as Advantest, Renesas and Tokyo Electron lost 1-2 percent. Trend Micro gave up 3.7 percent after posting disappointing results. Data released earlier in the day showed that a key inflation measure in the country weakened last month. Australian markets ended sharply lower despite Sydney and Melbourne easing more COVID-19 curbs amid a steady fall in hospital cases. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 74.50 points, or 1 percent, to 7,221.70, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended down 72 points, or 1 percent, at 7,502.80. QBE Insurance slumped 8.7 percent after its full-year profit fell short of market expectations. Troubled investment manager Magellan Financial jumped 18.5 percent after its half-year profit rose by 24 percent. Technology stocks followed their U.S. peers lower, while higher gold prices in the wake of heightened tensions in Ukraine lifted gold miners. Seoul stocks recovered from an early slide to finish marginally higher. Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Naver declined 1-2 percent. --------------------------------------------------------------- Do you day trade? Trader Alerts streams stocks reaching new highs and lows as well as stocks breaking out of previous volume highs as they happen. It?s a powerful tool for day trading ideas. [Learn More / Upgrade]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Commodities Crude oil futures are plunging $2.19 to $89.57 a barrel after tumbling $1.90 to $91.76 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after jumping $30.50 to $1,902 an ounce an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are slipping $1.90 to $1,900.10 an ounce. On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 115.01 yen versus the 114.94 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1353 compared to yesterday?s $1.1361. --------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from this news bulletin or edit your mailing list settings click [here](. Registered Office/Accounts Dept: Suite 27, Essex Technology Centre, The Gable, Fyfield Road, Ongar, CM5 0GA. Customer Support +1 888-992-3836. Company registered in England and Wales: Number 2374988 VAT No. GB 549 2130 49