Last week’s red-hot March inflation report is the least of the stock market’s worries. U.S. crude oil prices rose again to around $85.50. Geopolitics caused panic in the energy markets, as tensions between Israel and Iran heightened.
Exxon Mobil (XOM) fell by 0.82% in the last week, Conoco Phillips (COP) declined by 1.74%, and Chevron (CVX) fell by 1.63%. WTI crude prices usually stall when they are at around $100/bbl.
The Swiss government imposed harsher capital requirements on UBS. The new rules would slow UBS’s growth rate. It may set a precedent for tougher regulations against banks around the world. Watch out for selling pressure to mount on Morgan Stanley (MS), JP Morgan (JPM), and UBS stock today.
No Rate Cuts
Mainstream media will try to backtrack on the rate cut narrative that began last Sept. 2023. This would suggest that SPY, QQQ, and IWM have a higher-than-average risk of falling closer to levels from late last year. Investors hedging against higher inflation already bought gold, sending the metal’s prices to all-time highs.
Richly valued technology stocks may pull back further today. SMCI (SMCI), AMD (AMD), Nvidia (NVDA), and Tesla (TSLA) have the highest risk. Last week, Arista Networks (ANET) dropped. Already, software firms Adobe (ADBE) and Autodesk (ADSK) are in a sustained downtrend.
