Markets are watching epidemiological situations and OPEC meetings.. Negative performance for oil and some Asian exchanges
Markets are watching epidemiological situations and OPEC meetings: Today, a strong start of a week, as there seems to be a lot on markets,
headed by the upcoming OPEC meeting and completion of corporate results announcement in addition to epidemiological situation hitting a number of Asian countries especially in Japan and India.
Evest is following up all of this on a daily basis and it transmits it directly to you to help you make wise decisions for trading.
Oil begins this week on retreating
Today, oil prices began a new week on new declines, as investors continue to monitor epidemiological situations in Asia,
and they are also looking forward to the OPEC meeting scheduled for this week.
The cost of Brent crude futures for June in the London Futures Exchange was $ 65.67 a barrel, $ 0.44 (0.67%) lower than the closing price of the previous session.
As a result of Friday’s trading, these contracts rose by $ 0.71 (1.1%) to record $ 66.11 a barrel.
The price of West Texas Intermediate crude futures for June delivery in electronic trading in the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) was $ 61.76 a barrel,
$ 0.38 (0.61%) lower than the closing level of the previous session.
On Friday
On Friday, the value of these contracts rose by $ o.71 (1.2%) to reach $ 62.14 a barrel.
As a result of last week’s trading, Brent crude declined by 1%, while West Texas Intermediate crude retreated by – 1.7%.
However, since the start of the year, oil prices have generally risen by more than 27%.
After a strong start for this year, oil prices had recently stalled slightly.
Fears are mainly directed towards India, one of the world’s largest oil consumers.
The epidemiological situation there is very tense and it is likely to have consequences for energy demand.
In contrast, the United States and China’s performance- two large oil consumers- are doing better.
In Europe, too, there are increasing signs of economic recovery.
Investors
Investors’ sentiment is under pressure due to the deteriorating epidemiological situation in some Asian countries.
In 4 Japanese provinces such as Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and Hyogo, a state of emergency was declared, which will last until May 11.
At the same time, 349.69 thousand new cases of Covid-19 were recorded in India on April 24.
The market is following the development of the situation in India, which has raised some fears about oil demand in the region.
The situation in India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, will be the focus of participants of the OPEC + meeting.
This situation may be a problem for OPEC + countries, which had previously decided to increase oil supplies in May.
This year’s strong beginning for global crude oil prices somewhat declined in mid-March,
as stronger waves of Covid-19 pandemic began hitting some regions around the world.
likely to remain on track
This week, OPEC + countries are likely to remain on track,
as global fundamentals in oil markets have not changed enough since their previous meeting,
requiring changes in the agreement of oil supplies from individual coalition countries.
At the same time, analysts believe that meeting will not lead to unexpected decisions, and OPEC + will increase production as planned.
The market is also under pressure from prospects of increasing oil exports from Iran.
Last week, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani expressed his optimism that an agreement could be reached between Washington and Tehran
regarding Iran’s nuclear program, noting the progress of negotiations by nearly a 60 to 70% manner.
According to Reuters
According to Reuters, this deal will severely affect morale in markets,
but the result may not be bearish as some believe,
because negotiations have been going on for some time and at the same time Iran has already begun to increase supplies.
Meanwhile, data from US oil services company Baker Hughes, published last Friday,
showed a decrease in the number of oil and gas platforms operating
in the United States last week by one unit to reach 438 drilling platforms.
Contrast performance for exchanges in Asia
Major exchanges in Asia and Pacific had not moved in any particular and steady direction in the middle of the quarterly season,
ahead of the Federal Price Commission meeting scheduled for Wednesday.
After a weak start, Tokyo Stock Exchange had closed in a positive area, as support for gains in Wall Street and US indicators
were overshadowed by the Japanese health situation, at the end of last week.
Nikkei index
The Nikkei index rose by 0.36% to record 29126.23 points and the expanded Topix index rose by 0.17% to reach 1918.15 points.
Over the entire last week, the Nikkei index fell by more than 2% in facing a possible new emergency state in 4 Japanese provinces, including Tokyo, from Sunday to May 11.
This resolution against the epidemic presents more severe measures than they have been since the start of the year in Japan
while remaining moderate compared to restrictions observed in some other places of the world.
It mainly is to claim full closure over a period of time for bars offering alcohol,
as well as parks, shops, and shopping centers.
Hong Kong Stock Exchange
In China, the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong Stock Exchange fell by 0.19%,
while the Composite indexes of Shanghai and Shenzhen were also moving in the red zone.
Both Taiwan, Seoul, and Mumbai Exchanges rose by 1.57%, 0.73%,
and 1.4% in a row, while Sydney Exchange was weak and retreated by 0.21%.
Today’s expectations are high for DAX but CAC and Footsy are retreating
On Monday, major European exchanges are expected to largely start unchanged,
on eve of a new crowded week in publications of results of companies, economic indicators, and monetary policy announcements.
French CAC 40 futures are expected to start in a slight decline of 0.03%,
while the German DAX index may rise by 0.1%.
Expectations indicate the British FTSE index to retreat by 0.08%.
Last week, European indexes showed their first drop during 8 weeks,
as concerns were raised regarding a potential increase in taxes in the United States,
which fuel gains operations in markets.
Markets are watching epidemiological situations