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Buongiorno.
It’s a risk-on day. U.S. Futures are on the rise, following global stocks higher. Treasury yields are once again in retreat, which means, yep, tech shares are climbing.
So far, April is living up to its reputation as one of the best performing months for the stock markets. Jamie Dimon is even more bullish. The JPMorgan Chase CEO says the boom times will be with us for at least the next 18 months. We’re living in a Goldilocks moment, he says, in which economic growth, excess savings and manageable inflation are the new normal.
Alas, that euphoria isn’t being felt in crypto land this morning.
Let’s check in on the action.
Markets update
Asia
- The major Asia indexes are mostly higher in afternoon trading with the Hang Seng leading the way, up 1.1%.
- We’re still 10 months away from Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, and the tension is already mounting. The question looming over the games is whether the Biden Administration will boycott the games, a prospect that’s suddenly grown more likely.
- The debate over what bitcoin is—or isn’t—took a strange turn yesterday. Venture capitalist and conservative political donor Peter Thiel warns we should view the cryptocurrency as “a Chinese financial weapon against the U.S.” As it’s a clear threat against the dollar. In any case, if “China’s long Bitcoin…the U.S. Should be asking some tougher questions about exactly how that works.” 😕
Europe
- The European bourses were a blur of green this morning with the Stoxx Europe 600 up nearly 0.4% out of the gates.
- More fallout from Zurich today… Pressure is getting to the Credit Suisse CEO for the Archegos-inflicted damage to the banking giant’s bottom line. Thomas Gottstein has vowed to stay on the job to clean up the mess, but investors are still spooked. Shares are down more than 18% since the Archegos mess came to light two weeks ago.
- The next major economy to introduce a digital currency could be tech-y Sweden as the country’s central bank just wrapped up the first phase of its e-krona trial. That would put it ahead of the ECB and behind China. What’s a digital currency, and why does it matter? Coins2Day‘s Sophie Mellor has the scoop.
U.S.
- U.S. Futures point to a positive open, with the Nasdaq leading the way. Over the past two weeks, the Nasdaq 100 is up nearly 5%.
- Hear no evil, see no evil… Fed minutes yesterday revealed the central bankers are still not in the least bit concerned about inflation, adding to the general risk-on mood hanging over markets.
- Shares in Facebook are up a tick in pre-market trading despite news the social media giant suffered a massive data leak that potentially revealed the personal details of over half a billion users to hackers.
Elsewhere
- Gold is up, trading above $1,740/ounce.
- The dollar is down as equity futures gain.
- Crude is down with Brent trading below $63/barrel.
- Bitcoin is down, trading around $57,000. Those Peter Thiel comments aren’t helping matters.
***
Buzzworthy
Stocks don’t care
April, the coolest month
Where do we go from here?
🏡🔥🏡🔥🏡
***
Have a nice day, everyone. I’ll see you here tomorrow… Until then, there’s more news below.
Bernhard Warner
@BernhardWarner
[email protected]
As always, you can write to [email protected] or reply to this email with suggestions and feedback.
Today's read
Goldilocks moment. Jamie Dimon's annual letter to shareholders has become one of the true highlights of the investing year. In the latest, issued yesterday, the JPMorgan Chase CEO sees good times ahead for the U.S. Economy. “This boom could easily run into 2023,” he says.
Don't count out Big Tech. That's the bold call from über bull Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities. He's thoroughly unconvinced the great rotation trade will hold back the Nasdaq. “In our opinion, tech stocks have an upward 25% to 30% move in the cards for the rest of the year despite lingering rotation fears,” he tells investors in his latest note.
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