US equities kicked off the week with gains; the Big Tech led gains, as oil stocks slumped following an almost 10% slump in crude oil prices. Many oil traders predict that the price of a barrel could reach $200 by the end of the year. Goldman Sachs warns that the barrel of crude at $200 would send the economy into recession. Nasdaq led gains on Monday, as the index recovered more than half of losses it made since the November selloff, when the Federal Reserve (Fed) hinted at steeper rate hikes and quantitative tightening. The Big Tech is, of course, pulling the index higher, as big tech companies, along with other big cap stocks, are now perceived as safe haven investments when bonds tumble on expectation of a steeper monetary policy normalization. The Bank of America even warns that the global debt weighted by world GDP is on course for its worst year since 1949. So, it’s not a surprise that Joe Biden wants deficit reduction that would be financed by the biggest tax increase in history in dollar terms. Elsewhere, Tesla jumps 8% after the latest SEC filing showed that company wants a stock split to pay its stakeholders stock dividend, Bitcoin turns positive for the first time this year and the US JOLTS data will certainly print another strong month of available jobs, that no one wants.
Watch the full episode to find out more!
- 0:00 Intro
- 0:19 Oil dives 10%
- 2:35 Equities rally on cheaper oil
- 4:52 Tesla jumps on stock split news, to pay stock dividend
- 6:32 Big Tech, the new safe haven?
- 9:08 Bitcoin turns positive first time this year
Ipek Ozkardeskaya has begun her financial career in 2010 in the structured products desk of the Swiss Banque Cantonale Vaudoise. She worked at HSBC Private Bank in Geneva in relation to high and ultra-high net worth clients. In 2012, she started as FX Strategist at Swissquote Bank. She worked as a Senior Market Analyst in London Capital Group in London and in Shanghai. She returned to Swissquote Bank as Senior Analyst in 2020.
