Bargain Hunting May Contribute To Continued Strength On Wall Street

[ADVFN]( [[Global Email] World Daily Markets Bulletin]( Thursday, 03 March 2022 10:25:37 [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 higher open on Thursday, with stocks likely to extend the rally seen over the course of the previous session. The markets may continue to benefit from bargain hunting, as stocks have shown a notable rebound from the multi-month lows set last Friday but remain well off the recent highs. Lingering concerns about the Russian invasion of Ukraine may keep buying interest somewhat subdued, however, as Russia continues to ramp up its attacks. Traders may also be reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of the Labor Department?s closely watched monthly employment report on Friday. Economists currently expect employment to jump by 400,000 jobs in February after surging by 467,000 jobs in January, while the unemployment rate is expected to edge down to 3.9 percent from 4.0 percent. A day ahead of the release of the monthly jobs report, the Labor Department released a report showing a modest decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended February 26th. Stocks moved sharply higher during trading on Wednesday, offsetting the steep drop seen in Tuesday?s session. The major averages all showed substantial moves back to the upside on the day. The major averages held on to strong gains going into the close. The Dow shot 596.40 points or 1.8 percent at 33,891.35, the Nasdaq jumped 219.56 points or 1.6 percent to 13,752.02 and the S&P 500 spiked 80.28 points or 1.9 percent to 4,386.54. The strength on Wall Street came as the price of crude oil continued to surge, jumping to its highest levels in eleven years. Energy stocks benefitted from the spike in oil prices, which came amid the ongoing war in Ukraine and OPEC's decision to stick with plans for a modest increase in output. Reflecting the strength in the energy sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index surged up by 4.4 percent, while the NYSE Arca Oil Index jumped by 2.1 percent. Substantial strength was also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 4.4 percent spike by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) helped lead the sector higher after reporting better than expected quarterly earnings. A rebound by treasury yields also contributed to significant strength among banking stocks, with the KBW Bank Index shooting up by 3.6 percent after ending the previous session at a five-month closing low. Steel, semiconductor, networking and transportation stocks also moved notably higher, while gold stocks bucked the uptrend amid a steep drop by the price of the precious metal. On the U.S. economic front, payroll processor ADP released a report showing U.S. private sector employment jumped by much more than expected in the month of February. ADP said private sector employment surged by 475,000 jobs in February compared to economist estimates for an increase of 388,000 jobs. The report also showed a substantial revision to the January data, with the revised data showing employment spiked by 509,000 jobs compared to the previously reported loss of 301,000 jobs. Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told the House Financial Services Committee the Fed still believes it will be appropriate to raise interest rates later this month, citing inflation well above 2 percent and a strong labor market. The likely increase in interest rates comes even though Powell acknowledged that the Russia-Ukraine conflict has introduced significant uncertainty for the U.S. economic outlook. --------------------------------------------------------------- [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 Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing a modest decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended February 26th. The report showed initial jobless claims dipped to 215,000, a decrease of 18,000 from the previous week?s revised level of 233,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 225,000 from the 232,000 originally reported for the previous week. A separate report released by the Labor Department showed the spike in U.S. labor productivity in the fourth quarter of 2021 was unrevised from the initial estimate. The Labor Department said labor productivity surged by 6.6 percent in the fourth quarter after tumbling by 3.9 percent in the third quarter. Economists had expected the jump in productivity to be upwardly revised to 6.7 percent. Meanwhile, the report showed the increase in unit labor costs during the quarter was upwardly revised to 0.9 percent from the previously reported 0.3 percent. Unit labor costs were expected to be unrevised. The advance in unit labor costs during the fourth quarter came following a 10.6 percent spike in the third quarter. At 10 am ET, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is due to deliver his semiannual monetary policy testimony before the Senate Banking Committee. The Institute for Supply Management is also scheduled to release its report on service sector activity in the month of February at 10 am ET. The ISM?s services PMI is expected to rise to 61.0 in February from 59.9 in January, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the sector. Also at 10 am ET, the Commerce Department is due to release its report on new orders for manufactured goods in the month of January. Factory orders are expected to increase by 0.7 percent. The Treasury Department is scheduled to announce the details of this month?s auctions of three-year and ten-year notes and thirty-year bonds at 11 am ET. At 12 pm ET, Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin is due to speak in person before a hybrid Economic Update with Tom Barkin hosted by the CFO Society of Baltimore. New York Federal Reserve President John Williams is scheduled to participate in a moderated discussion before a virtual Council for Economic Education Economists on the Economy event at 6 pm ET. --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- Stocks in Focus Shares of Snowflake (SNOW) are moving sharply lower in pre-market trading after the software company reported better than expected fourth quarter results but provided disappointing guidance. Apparel retailer American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) may also move to the downside after reporting fourth quarter earnings that beat estimates but warned about the impact of higher freight costs. Meanwhile, shares of Best Buy (BBY) are moving notably higher in pre-market trading after the consumer electronics retailer reported better than expected fourth quarter earnings and increased its dividend. --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- Europe European stocks have edged lower on Thursday amid worries about commodity-led inflationary pressures, as Russia faces severe global backlash over its full-scale attack on Ukraine. The downside remained capped after a survey showed Eurozone economic growth regained momentum in February to reach its strongest pace since last September. IHS Markit said its composite PMI for the euro zone rose to 55.5 in February from 52.3 in the previous month amid strong expansions across both manufacturing and services sectors. The index slumped to 11-month low in January. The U.K.?s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.7 percent and the German DAX Index is down by 0.5 percent, although the French CAC 40 Index has bucked the downtrend and inched up by 0.1 percent. H&M has shown a significant move to the downside. The Swedish retailer has become the latest company to sever ties with Russia. Lufthansa shares have also slumped. After reporting a loss in 2021, the German airline said it could not provide a detailed outlook for 2022 due to the war in Ukraine and the pandemic. Specialty chemicals company Evonik has also declined after reporting a lower than expected adjusted core profit for the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, a relentless rally in commodity prices amid concerns about the overall impact of mounting sanctions against Russia has boosted mining and oil stocks. London Stock Exchange Group has also surged. The exchange said applying financial sanctions on Russia would have only a minor impact on its business. Thales Group shares have also jumped. The French electrical systems company posted an increase in earnings for fiscal 2021, amidst higher revenue and order intake. KION Group, a manufacturer of materials handling equipment, has also moved sharply higher after posting strong full-year results. --------------------------------------------------------------- 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 posted strong gains on Thursday even as Russian forces bombarded Ukraine's second-largest city and besieged two ports. Investors tried to figure out the future path of U.S. interest rates after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in testimony before Congress that he is inclined to support a 25 basis point rate increase at the upcoming Fed meeting, instead of the 50 basis point hike recommended by some board members. Powell's comments came after European Central Bank policymakers this week argued against any drastic shift in monetary policy. Chinese shares ended marginally lower after a survey showed service sector activity in February had expanded at the slowest pace in six months. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended up 0.6 percent at 22,467.34. Japanese shares advanced as worries eased of aggressive Fed rate hikes. The Nikkei 225 Index climbed 184.24 points, or 0.7 percent, to 26,577.27, while the broader Topix ended 1.2 percent higher at 1,881.80. Marine transportation, oil and coal product, and banking stocks topped the gainers list. Cosmo Energy Holdings and Idemitsu Kosan soared 5-6 percent. Heavyweight Fast Retailing dropped 1.2 percent after the operator of the Uniqlo casual clothing chain reported a decrease in its domestic sales in February. Australian markets extended gains for the fifth day running as traders bet on a further run-up in commodity prices due economic sanctions on Russia. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 34.70 points, or 0.5 percent, to 7,151.40, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended up 40.50 points, or 0.6 percent, at 7,446.80. Energy and metals stocks continued to soar as more companies joined an international boycott of Russian trade, sparking anxiety that supply will fall short in everything from wheat to natural gas. Whitehaven Coal and Yancoal both jumped around 11 percent. The services sector in Australia bounced into expansion territory in February, the latest survey from Markit Economics showed. Seoul stocks rose for the fourth day after Powel signaled an interest rate hike liftoff, vigilance on inflation, and economic resilience, although he warned of more aggressive rate hikes if inflation continues to build up. The Kospi rallied 43.56 points, or 1.6 percent, to close at 2,747.08. Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, Naver and Hyundai Motor climbed 2-4 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 jumping $1.76 to $112.36 a barrel after soaring $7.19 to $110.60 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after tumbling $21.50 to $1,922.30 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are climbing $11.60 to $1,933.90 an ounce. On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 115.68 yen versus the 115.52 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1079 compared to yesterday?s $1.1119. --------------------------------------------------------------- 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