A roundup of Wednesday’s stock market results from across the region
🗽 On Wall Street:
Chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell came to the rescue of U.S. stock markets Wednesday with his statements, amid the impact generated by the war between Ukraine and Russia.
Powell assured that the U.S. economy is expanding strongly enough to resist interest rate hikes, and pledged to be cautious about removing the stimulus deployed to counter the negative effects of the pandemic.
In addition, the U.S. central bank chief backed a quarter-point rate hike this month to kick off a series of increases.
“To the extent that inflation becomes higher or is more persistently higher than that, then we would be prepared to move more aggressively,” he told the House Financial Services Committee.
Following Powell’s remarks, the Nasdaq Composite (CCMPDL) closed with a gain of 1.62%, while the S&P 500 rose 1.86% and the Dow Jones Industrials advanced 1.79%.
🔑 The Day’s Key Data:
Oil prices continue to climb, with both benchmarks now trading above $110, as fears remain that the war in Ukraine could lead to a disruption in supplies.
The bullish behavior also received a boost after OPEC and its allies agreed to a modest reactivation of supplies for April.
The 23-nation coalition, led by Saudi Arabia, ratified an increase of 400,000 barrels per day on Wednesday, showing a gradual restoration of production that was halted during the pandemic, even though supply has not kept pace with demand for crude.
On Tuesday the International Energy Agency had confirmed that it will release 60 million barrels of emergency oil stocks worldwide, but the measure did not work to cool prices.
🏅 The Leader:
On the return to trading after the end of the long holiday, Argentina’s Merval (MERVAL) had the best performance among the main Latin American indexes, up 2.59% on a good day for the main stock markets.
Shares linked to the commodities sector such as those of Pampa Energía (PAMP), YPF (YPFD) and Cresud (CRES) were among the session’s best performers. The rebound in the Argentine market came after accumulating two sessions with losses last week, before the two-day holiday on Monday and Tuesday.
Brazil’s Ibovespa (IBOV) also returned in good spirits after the break for Carnival, closing with gains following the performance of the U.S. markets, while Mexico’s S&P BMV/IPC (MEXBOL) also ended the session with gains.
📉 A Bad Day:
Colombia’s MSCI Colcap was the only index in the region to register losses, hobbled by the performance of Ecopetrol (ECOPETL) shares and the preferred shares of Grupo Sura and Cementos Argos.
The three companies’ shares fell after profit taking after Tuesday’s session, which was boosted by the price of oil and the new takeover bid launched by the Gilinski Group for the companies of Grupo Empresarial Antioqueño.
The energy and utilities sectors were among the worst performers.
The country’s current account deficit widened to 5.7% of GDP in Q4 2021, or $6.136 billion, its widest level since first quarter 2016, as highlighted by an analysis by Acciones & Valores.
🍝 For the Dinner Table Debate:
Roman Abramovich said Wednesday he will sell Chelsea Football Club, and instructed the board to create a charitable foundation that will receive all net proceeds from the sale, Bloomberg reported.
“The foundation will be for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine,” Abramovich said in a statement on the English team’s website.
Hansjoerg Wyss, a Swiss businessman, said he received an offer to buy Chelsea on Tuesday, along with three other potential buyers. Abramovich’s advisors at the Raine Group are seeking bids of at least 3 billion pounds ($4 billion) for the club, SkyNews reported.
The move comes after the U.K. sanctioned more than 100 Russian individuals and entities in response to the invasion of Ukraine, although Abramovich has so far remained off the list.
