A roundup of Friday’s stock market results from across the Americas
🌎 Merval gains as other Latin American markets close lower:
Latin America’s markets closed lower on Friday, with the exception of Argentin’s, whose Merval index (MERVAL) gained 3.22%, boosted by the shares of Transportadora de Gas del Sur (TGSU2) and Aluar Aluminio Argentino (ALUA), which ended the day with gains of 5.02% and 4.71% respectively.
President Alberto Fernández announced on Friday that he will not run for reelection in October.
Chile’s IPSA (IPSA) fell 3.16%, dragged down by the shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (SQM), which plummeted 14.69%.
SQM plummeted on Friday after President Gabriel Boric’s government announced a policy that gives the state a majority stake in all new lithium contracts.
In a public statement, SQM was cautious about the government plan: “Contributing to this path that profiles our country as a leader in sustainable development and technologies to improve people’s quality of life, along with giving a determined push to combat global climate change, as SQM we hope to be part of this dialogue and conversation that is now beginning,” they explained.
Brazil’s stock market remained closed FridayLa Bolsa de Brasil no operó este viernes por el feriado nacional del Día de Tiradentes.
🗽On Wall Street:
Stocks edged higher amid mixed corporate earnings and as traders parsed the latest data for clues on the outlook for inflation, economic growth and the Federal Reserve’s policy path.
The S&P 500 swung between small gains and losses throughout the session. Treasury two-year yields, which are more sensitive to imminent Fed decisions, rose to around 4.2%. The dollar was steady.
The Nasdaq Composite (CCMPDL) gained just 0.11%, while the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.09% and 0.07% respectively.
US business activity unexpectedly climbed to nearly a one-year high, risking more inflation. The S&P Global flash April composite purchasing managers index rose 1.2 points to 53.5 - the highest since May.
“If economic conditions hold up, the Fed may be emboldened to tighten policy more than current market expectations – a headwind to equities in our view,” wrote Mike Gibbs, managing director of equity portfolio and technical strategy at Raymond James. “If economic conditions deteriorate, we do believe the Fed will ease monetary policy – but economic volatility is also likely to correspond with market volatility.”
All that results in a range-bound view on equities for now, Gibbs added.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed, the euro rose 0.2% to $1.0990, the British pound was little changed at $1.2444 and the Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 134.08 per dollar.
🍝 For the dinner table debate:
US financial regulators proposed strengthening tools to address threats to financial stability on Friday, including changes to Trump-era guidance that made it harder to label nonbank firms as systemically important institutions.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Friday announced a proposal by the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) that would overhaul how nonbank firms are designated.
“The existing guidance issued in 2019 created inappropriate hurdles as part of the designation process,” Yellen said Friday. “These additional steps are not legally required by the Dodd-Frank Act. Nor are they helpful or feasible. Some are based on a misguided view of how financial crises begin and the costs they impose.”
Leidys Becerra, a content producer at Bloomberg Línea, and Sujata Rao of Bloomberg News, contributed to this report.