Bloomberg Línea — The US stock markets returned to trading Tuesday’s after Monday’s holiday, but closing with losses as the yield on Treasury bonds accelerated the liquidation of stocks. Goldman Sachs’ (GS) quarterly report disappointed the market and impacted the performance of the Dow Jones Industrials (INDU), which lost 1.51% during the day.
The U.S. bank’s equity trading revenue for the fourth quarter of 2021 was US$2.12 billion, well below the US$2.47 billion expected by analysts.
The S&P 500 (SPX) also closed down 1.84%, while the Nasdaq Composite (CCMPDL) saw the sharpest losses, dropping 2.60%. The Nasdaq 100 (NDX), which groups the 100 most important companies in the technology sector, fell by 2.57% as investors abandoned a sector sensitive to the increase in interest rates.
Treasury yields rose to levels not seen since before the pandemic, as speculation increases that central banks will have to raise rates sooner than expected to control inflation. The expectation in the U.S. is that the Fed will do so as early as March.
Yields on the 10-year benchmark rose above 1.87%, their highest level since January 2020.
Oil prices remain at seven-year highs after Brent traded above $87 and WTI above $85. The Houthi drone attack in the United Arab Emirates rekindled doubts about possible supply disruptions in the region as concerns pass that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus will deal a blow to crude demand.
Latin America
In Latin America, Colombia’s COLCAP index was once again the most outstanding, with a 4.14% rise, after achieving its best session in almost two years on Monday, with the index on its way to 1,600 points, a level not seen since before the pandemic.
The Colombian stock exchange traded 539 billion pesos ($134.2 million) of shares on Monday, up from 66.9 billion pesos worth a week ago.
On Monday night, Grupo Gilinski launched a new takeover bid, this time for Grupo Nutresa (NUTRESA), the fourth takeover bid made by the company for Grupo Empresarial Antioqueño (GEA), which comprises Nutresa, Sura (GRUPOSUR) and Argos (GRUPOARG) companies.
If successful, the Gilinskis, who own GNB Sudameris bank, would practically take control of the companies, due to the shareholding structure with which they operate.
The Chilean stock exchange (IPSA) put in the second best performance in the region, with the Ipsa index up 0.62%, driven by the communications services, materials and information technology sectors.
The market is attentive to President-elect Gabriel Boric’s cabinet, which could be announced during the coming weekend.