GLOBAL stocks rebounded yesterday in choppy trade as investors assessed the outlook for interest rates and tech giants rebounded from recent losses. 

All three major indexes on Wall Street finished the day firmly in the black, led by the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite index, which closed up 1.4%. 

Among individual firms, the chip-making behemoth Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company saw its share price in New York surge almost 10% after beating earnings expectations. 

Apple’s share price was lifted by 3.3% after its stock was upgraded to “buy” by a Bank of America analyst.

European markets also closed higher, as did most Asian markets, while oil prices rose amid continued unrest in the Middle East.

Snapping the losing streak

Yesterday’s optimism stands in stark contrast to trading a day earlier.

Then, global stocks sank after stronger-than-expected US retail sales data dimmed hopes for an early start to US Federal Reserve rate cuts, while weak Chinese growth data gave cause for concern, and the UK saw an unexpected acceleration in inflation. 

“Stock markets are modestly higher on Thursday, recovering some of Wednesday’s losses as investors seemingly struggle to determine where things stand,” said market analyst Craig Erlam at Oanda.

“There’s clearly a desperate desire to cling on to the optimism that enabled such a strong end to the year but unlike in that period, the data isn’t really playing ball,” he added.

It wasn’t all good news in the United States, however, as retail store Macy’s announced it was cutting more than 2,300 jobs as part of a new strategy to streamline the company.

The news sent its share price down around 0.3% in after-hours trading. 

Fed cuts before Q3?

Earlier yesterday, a senior Federal Reserve official indicated he expected the US central bank to cut interest rates in the third quarter – and maybe even earlier than that.

“If we continue to see a further accumulation of downside surprises in the data, it’s possible for me to get comfortable enough to advocate normalisation sooner than the third quarter,” Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic told a conference in the city. 

“But the evidence would need to be convincing,” added Bostic, who is a voting member of the Fed’s rate-setting committee this year.

Bostic’s comments follow those of other Fed officials, whose remarks appear intended to cool market expectations of an interest rate cut in March.

But despite their interventions, futures traders still assign a probability of more than 55% that the Fed will cut interest rates in March, according to data from CME Group.

Gambling boosts FTSE

The British capital’s FTSE 100 also shifted back into the black following bright news in the betting sector, where gambling giant Flutter revealed surging annual sales and an imminent US listing.

The news sent its share price rocketing 15% to top the FTSE 100 risers board.

In Asia, stocks mostly trod higher, but gains were capped by a lack of meaningful measures by Beijing to boost China’s economy following news of poor 2023 growth.

Hong Kong and Shanghai enjoyed some rare gains on bargain-buying after recent losses, though worries about China’s economic outlook continued to drag on sentiment following Wednesday’s soft economic growth figures.

Key figures around 2030 GMT

New York - Dow: UP 0.5 at 37,468.61 points (close) 

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.9% at 4,780.94 (close)

New York - Nasdaq: UP 1.4% at 15,055.65 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2% at 7,459.09 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.1% at 7,401.35 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.8% at 16,567.35 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: UP 1.1% at 4,453.05 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: FLAT at 35,466.17 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.8% at 15,391.79 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.4% at 2,845.78 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0879 from $1.0883 on Wednesday

Dollar/yen: DOWN at  ¥148.11 from  ¥148.16

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2708 from $1.2676

Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.58 pence from 85.84 pence

West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.1% at $74.08 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.6% at $79.10 per barrel – AFP, January 19, 2024.