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The US market closed higher on Tuesday following the release of upbeat earnings results and encouraging economic data. General Motors shares rose over 8% on Tuesday after reporting quarterly results that surprised markets including earnings per share of $2.12 and revenue of $43.11bn which both well exceeded analysts’ expectations. The Dow Jones rose 1.1%, the S&P500 gained 1.47% to record its best January since 2019, and the Nasdaq ended the day up 1.67% for its best January since 2001.
The Fed’s FOMC meeting ends today and has investors weighing up whether the fed will continue its aggressive rate hike strategy or whether recent favourable economic data will ease the fed’s stance including personal spending in the US falling by 0.2% for the second consecutive month in December, and US CPI showing goods and services prices have dropped for the first time since May 2020 as the inflation rate fell to 6.5% for December, down from 7.1% in November. The expectation is for a 25-basis point rate hike to be announced for the month, which is the lowest since March 2022.
Over in Europe, markets closed Tuesday’s session lower despite eurozone growth figures coming in ahead of estimates with growth of 0.1% in the last quarter of 2022. Investors in the region are now focused on the European Central Bank’s interest rate decision out on Thursday. German retail sales for December showed a surprise fall which paints a mixed picture of economic conditions in the region ahead of the rate decision out tomorrow. Germany’s DAX and the French CAC each closed Tuesday’s session flat, but the FTSE100 in the UK fell 0.17%.
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