Market Overview:
Equity Market
U.S. markets ended on a positive note on Thursday, March 7, 2023, with both the S&P 500 and
Nasdaq Composite hitting record highs. The S&P 500 rose 1.03% to close at 5,157.36, while
the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.51% to settle at 16,273.38. The Dow Jones Industrial
Average also posted gains, rising 0.34% to finish at 38,791.35. In the tech sector, NVIDIA
Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA) led the way with a daily gain of 4.47%, closing at 926.69. Other
semiconductor stocks, including Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE: TSM) and Broadcom Inc
(Nasdaq: AVGO), also performed well. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell expressed
optimism on Thursday that inflation is sustainably moving towards the 2% level, suggesting that
the first interest rate cut could come as early as June. Investors are keenly awaiting the release
of the February non-farm payrolls on Friday, March 8, 2023, with consensus growth estimates
ranging from 120,000 to 290,000, reflecting the strength of the U.S. labor market. Looking
ahead to next week, earnings reports from Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL) and Adobe, Inc
(NYSE: ADBE) are among those to watch. In IPO news, Reddit is set to go public with an
offering price range of $31 to $34, potentially making it one of the largest IPOs in U.S. history.
Overseas, ASML Holding NV (AMS: ASML) led the European market, closing at 949.20 Euro
with a daily increase of 4.06%. In Asia, the Nikkei 225 index continued its strong performance,
reaching 39,638.82 as of 1:28 AM Amsterdam Time on March 8, partially buoyed by Powell’s
signal of a potential interest rate cut.
Bond Market & Currency
In the bond market, the yield on the 1-month U.S. Treasury note stands at 5.388%, while the
yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note is currently at 4.085%. Across the Atlantic, the yield on
the 10-year UK government bond is at 4.009%. In the foreign exchange market, the EUR/USD
currency pair is trading at 1.0949, marking a 1.03% increase. This indicates that the Euro has
strengthened against the U.S. Dollar.
Crypto
The cryptocurrency market is experiencing a significant surge. As of 01:55 AM on March 8,
Bitcoin is trading at $66,944.90 USD, despite a temporary dip. Over the past month, it has
surged by $21,644.70 USD, marking a substantial increase of 45.26%. The iShares Bitcoin ETF
is currently priced at $38.63 USD. This has contributed to a nearly 20% rise in the share price of
Coinbase Global Inc (Nasdaq: COIN) over the past week. Ether, another major cryptocurrency,
is currently trading at $3,881.12 USD. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is still
reviewing the Ether ETF application, with a decision expected by May 23. Other
cryptocurrencies to watch include WorldCoin, which tripled its price to $7.2 USD, following
endorsements from Sam Altman and the launch of Sora from OpenAI.
Commodities and Derivatives
Gold prices reached a record high this week, trading at $2,160.28 per ounce as of 01:08 AM on
March 8, marking a daily increase of $12.63. The surge in gold prices is largely attributed to firm
expectations of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve in its June monetary policy meeting, coupled
with ongoing global financial uncertainties. In the energy market, West Texas Intermediate
(WTI) Crude is currently priced at $79.29 per barrel. Meanwhile, natural gas prices are on a
downward trend, currently trading at $1.7949. The decline in natural gas prices since last
November is primarily due to an oversupply in the market.
Flow Traders Investment Competition:
After a strange week with high volatility on the market Nova Capital is this weeks' biggest winner! By having a 15% return in only one week they have entered the competitions' top 10. Meanwhile, Hera Moneta dropped out of the top 10, they lost 9 spots having a complete 'off-week' and losing 1.62% portfolio value. However, looking at Omega Investments it could even get worse... they lost over 3% of their return in only one week losing a total of 17 spots. Can they recover?
