:quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/bloomberglinea/XIAIXCG3PZGWVLBEEK7UZU2GEE.jpg "Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, USPhotographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg")
A roundup of Wednesday’s stock market results from across the Americas
👑 Peru leads in Latin America:
Most Latin American stock markets fell on Wednesday, with the exception being the Peruvian market.
The S&P/BVL Perú (SPBLPGPT) rose 0.19%, driven by the financials and non-core consumer goods sectors. Shares of Cementos Pacasmayo (CPACASC1), Credicorp (BAP), Compañía de Minas Buenaventura (BVN) and Alicorp (ALICORC1) saw the strongest gains
Credicorp announced on Wednesday that more than 2.2 million people have been included in Peru’s financial system through Yape, its electronic wallet that operates with eight banking institutions in the country and allows sending and receiving money 24 hours a day for free through a cell phone number or by scanning QR codes.
Gianfranco Ferrari, CEO of Credicorp, said via LinkedIn that after the Central Reserve Bank of Peru (BCR) reported last week that e-wallets will now be able to accept transfers from its competitors’ users, they expect Yape to add more financial institutions to its portfolio.
Brazil’s Ibovespa (IBOV) remained closed due to a public holiday.
📉 A bad day for the rest:
The region’s other stock exchanges closed lower, with the sharpest drop for Chile’s IPSA (IPSA), closing 1.05% lower.
The Chilean index was dragged down by the performance of the materials, industrials and information technology sectors. The shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (SQM/B), Sudamericana de Vapores (VAPORES) and Inversiones Oro Blanco (OROB) were among the worst performers.
SQM/B shares fell 8.5% on the NYSE, its sharpest decline since April 21, after Morgan Stanley noted in a report on a drop in lithium volumes and share prices.
Colombia’s Colcap (COLCAP) and Argentina’s Merval (COLCAP) also closed lower, down 0.36% and 0.43% respectively.
🗽 On Wall Street:
US stocks fell with investors bracing for Thursday’s reading on consumer prices. Treasuries gained, while UK markets were roiled once again by confusion over the country’s policies.
The S&P 500 slipped into the red in the final minutes of trading, capping six days of losses to close at the lowest level since November 2020 and surpassing the previous low on Sept. 30. Equities faded a brief rally after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting suggested some officials may consider calibrating the pace of rate increases. The consumer price reading will be the last major data point before the central bankers meet next month.
The S&P 500 hit its lowest level since November 2020, closing 0.33% lower after spending most of the day in the green. The Nasdaq Composite (CCMPDL) closed with a loss of -0.09% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.10% lower.
“The market is waiting for the CPI print tomorrow more than it was waiting for minutes,” according to Sarah Hunt of Alpine Woods Capital Investors. “There may be a little hint of relief on the ‘calibrate’ statement, but I think that with the speed of hikes so far it would be irresponsible not to have some sort of possible slowdown coming in hikes, even if it isn’t a cessation in hikes.”
Data Wednesday showed prices paid to US producers rose in September by more than expected ahead of a key measure of consumer inflation due Thursday that’s set to return to a four-decade high.
Comments by Minneapolis Fed chief Neel Kashkari earlier Wednesday reaffirmed policy makers’ commitment to the current rate-hike path, saying the bar for a pivot away from monetary policy tightening is “very high.”
“Should tomorrow’s CPI print come in above what the market is expecting, today’s somewhat blasé reaction to the minutes, and the PPI report, could be tested, particularly by bond yields,” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial.
“If rates on the 10-year Treasury inches closer to 4%, and the 2-Year Treasury follows suit, the market could have a rough day before the market turns its focus towards a broad reading of bank earnings and guidance,” he added.
On the corporate front, PepsiCo Inc. jumped the most in more than two years after lifting its forecast for the year on the back of better-than-estimated third-quarter profit as drink and snack sales buck inflation. Moderna Inc. surged after Merck & Co. said it would exercise an option to work in partnership with the biotech on a messenger RNA cancer vaccine. The reporting season will kick off in earnest Friday with results from banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc.
On the currency markets, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed, the euro was little changed at $0.9702, the British pound rose 1.1% to $1.1093, and the Japanese yen fell 0.7% to 146.84 per dollar.
🔑 Key events of the day:
Oil in New York dropped below $88 a barrel on slowdown fears. OPEC trimmed projections for the amount of crude it will need to pump this quarter, while Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said any energy infrastructure in the world is at risk after the explosions on the Nord Stream pipelines.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged alliance members to step up supplies of air defense systems to Ukraine, condemning Russian strikes. In China, Shanghai is quietly shutting down schools and a raft of other venues as officials try to rein in a flareup that’s hit the financial hub.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) closed at $87.27 per barrel for November delivery, while Brent for December delivery dropped to $92.33.
🍝 For the dinner table debate:
Global household wealth is on track for its first significant decline in magnitude since the 2008 financial crisis, according to a new report from Allianz. After three years of record gains for its financial assets, the nominal decline in 2022 is likely to end up being more than 2%, the company’s researchers said.
They also defined this year as one of “inflection” for global wealth, considering the few signs that the situation will reverse in the near future.
“Monetary tightening is pressuring economies and markets, and households will feel the pain,” states a passage in the report. “In real terms, households will lose a tenth of their wealth.”
-- Leidys Becerra, a content producer at Bloomberg Línea, and Stephen Kirkland and Peyton Forte of Bloomberg News, contributed to this report.
