:quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/bloomberglinea/DLXCXCOWBJC2JL4ST5YQ5SUIZI.jpg "Wall Street no tiene idea de como incorporar a los precios el tumulto del sector bancario")
A roundup of Monday’s stock market results from across the Americas
🌎 Merval leads the gains in Latin America:
The majority of Latin America’s markets closed with gains on Monday, led by Argentina’s Merval index (MERVAL), which gained 2.93%, boosted by the shares of Empresa Distribuidora y Comercializadora Norte (EDN), Aluar Aluminio Argentino (ALUA) and Pampa Energía (PAMP), while Brazil’s Ibovespa (IBOV) was the region’s only index to close lower.
The Argentine economy stagnated in February. After the slight rebound of 0.5% it had shown during the first month of the year, the Monthly Estimator of Economic Activity (EMAE) published this Monday by statistics agency INDEC showed that the Argentine economy in February saw a variation close to zero with respect to the previous month in the seasonally adjusted measurement.
Unable to extend the slight rebound it had recorded in January, when it cut a streak of four consecutive months of negative variations, the economy’s year-on-year comparison, however, saw an increase.
In relation to the same month of 2022, said the report published this Monday by the Argentine statistical institute, nine sectors of activity that make up the EMAE recorded increases. Among them, Mining and quarrying, with an increase of 11.1% year-on-year, and Hotels and restaurants, with an increase of 8.6%.
Meanwhile, the ‘blue dollar’ closed this Monday, April 24, at $457 for purchase and $462 for sale, reflecting the fact that the video of Alberto Fernández’s resignation as presidential pre-candidate for the Frente de Todos did not have an impact on the volatility of the informal exchange rate.
The gap between the parallel exchange rate and the official wholesale dollar ($218.53) already exceeds by a wide margin the 100% barrier and is close to 110%. The blue, which reached almost $470 this Monday, had started April at $393 for sale.
Brazil’s Ibovespa fell 0.40%, dragged down mainly by the fall in the price of Vale (VALE) shares, which dropped almost 4% as investors await the publication of the company’s financial results this week.
🗽On Wall Street:
US equities drifted at the start of a week packed with corporate earnings and economic data that may help illuminate the Federal Reserve’s path for interest rates.
The S&P 500 was little changed and the Nasdaq 100 (CCMPDL) shed 0.2% as manufacturing data arrived weaker than forecast and Treasury yields fell amid debt ceiling drama. Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. declined on plans to shutter all its stores. Meanwhile, the dollar was weaker against major peers, and oil rose.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.20%.
“Investors are trying to look though all the economic data points as well as earnings comments to discern how the Fed is likely to move,” Paul Nolte, a senior wealth manager at Murphy & Sylvest Wealth Management, wrote in a note.
First Republic Bank fell in postmarket trading on an earnings beat but lower than expected deposits. The bank said its pursuing strategic options. And up next, Microsoft Corp., Meta Platforms Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. will be reporting results later in the week. US GDP data is forecast to reveal slowing growth, and the so-called core PCE deflator, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, is expected to show price growth cooled.
Swaps markets continue to see interest rates peaking in the coming weeks before a series of cuts later in the year. But, not everyone holds this view. Leveraged investors boosted net short positions on 10-year Treasury futures to a record this month, data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission show. That indicates they think Fed officials will keep raising rates to tackle inflation.
“Economic data continues to deny investors an obvious growth or policy signal. Demand isn’t falling fast enough to signal an imminent recession, but there are no indications of a reacceleration,” Dennis Debusschere at 22V Research wrote.
The yield on the US 10-year note fell six basis points and ended around 3.51%, testing its 200-day moving average.
In Europe, UBS Group AG climbed after takeover target Credit Suisse AG reported outflows that were lower than some expected. The Stoxx Europe 600 was little changed. Elsewhere, the new Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda will hold his first policy meeting this week. The bank is expected to soon start its policy review of the past decades.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%, the euro rose 0.5% to $1.1043, the British pound rose 0.4% to $1.2482 and the Japanese yen fell 0.1% to 134.31 per dollar.
🍝 For the dinner table debate:
Amid a scenario of mass layoffs by large companies globally, driven by spending cuts and economic slowdown forecasts for most countries, the freelance workforce continues to play a key role in the economy.
A new study on this sector of workers, who provide independent services to companies, businesses and projects, showed that Latin American freelancers are well positioned in the labor market and that their remuneration has reached the standards of other regions, according to the Payoneer Global Inc. platform.
The Freelancer Insights Report found that the average hourly rate for Latin American respondents is $22 an hour, close to the average for all other regions ($23 an hour). However, the gender gap is also marked in this sector, with women earning a lower average hourly rate than men in all regions, coming in at $21 an hour.
What sectors do freelancers in Latin America work in? Along with services that require language skills - such as translation, content writing, sales and marketing - they also offer more technical services such as web and graphic design, programming, multimedia production and IT services.
Leidys Becerra, a content producer at Bloomberg Línea, and Vildana Hajric and Isabelle Lee of Bloomberg News, contributed to this report.
