Oil rises with the support of OPEC.. The epidemiological situation in Asia is negatively affecting the stock market
Oil rises with the support of OPEC: Today, new developments are taking place in the economic landscape,
as oil has been able to rise again with the support of statements by OPEC
that oil demand expectations have been improved during the current year.
India’s bad epidemiological situation continues to cast a shadow on the Asian stock market, amid a decline in most the Asian indices,
and expectations of following European indicators for stock exchange performance in Asia.
Evest is following daily what happens in markets, and it tries to transmit it to you to help you make the right decision when trading.
Oil is rising on the back of positive statements by OPEC
Today, Oil prices rose amid improving demand expectations for this year by the OPEC + Technical Committee.
In London Futures Exchange, the cost of Brent crude futures for June was $ 66.01 a barrel, $ 036 (0.55%) higher than the closing price of the previous session.
As a result of Monday’s trading, these contracts retreated by $ 046 (0.7%) to record $ 65.65 a barrel.
The price of West Texas Intermediate crude futures for June in electronic trading in the New York Mercantile Exchange ( NYMEX) was $ 62.26 a barrel, $ 0.35 (0.57%)higher than the level of closing of the previous session.
On Monday, the value of these contracts declined by $0.23 (0.4%) to record $ 61.91 a barrel.
Rising oil prices come against the backdrop of OPEC + decision to postpone the Oversight Committee meeting until April 27.
OPEC notes a decrease in the market surplus of raw materials, however,
an increase in the number of Coronavirus cases in India may lead to lower demand for oil.
On Monday
On Monday, delegates at the meeting said that Technical Committee experts raised the forecast for oil demand growth in 2021
to 6 million barrels a day from 5.6 million barrels a day that was expected in March.
At the same time, they believe that the excess reserves of oil that were formed in the global market during the epidemic
will completely disappear by the end of the current quarter.
OPEC Secretary-General Mohamed Barkindo also said that the outlook for the oil market was improving,
referring to “positive indicators for the world economy”.
However, he stressed that there were many factors that required constant observation and vigilance.
The Technical Committee of OPEC + had also warned that the difficult epidemiological situation in India,
Japan and Brazil could limit the increased demand for oil.
Reuters analysts
According to Reuters analysts, OPEC +countries which will meet this week should take growth prospects in China,
the United States, Europe, and negative signals from India and many other regions, into consideration.
OPEC + countries that support increasing production under these circumstances will be able to find compelling arguments for their position.
On the other hand, the Indian government had ordered the army to help in combating Coronavirus, while countries such as Britain, Germany, and the United States had promised to assist.
If a country such as India is able to control the increase in the daily numbers of Covid-19 infections, this will mean a breakthrough for oil prices,
mainly due to the increase in the numbers again in the most oil-demanding countries, mainly India, in addition to the epidemiological situation in some other Asian countries such as Japan.
The collective decline for Asian indicators
Today, Asia’s main stock exchanges retreated, as the number of Coronavirus infections,
which is increasing again in some countries, overshadows prospects for further economic recovery.
In addition, some investors continue to gain profits.
Leading indicators had been declined in the Asia-Pacific region, like risk-taking and economic expectations
had been worsened due to rising numbers of patients in some countries such as India.
Bank of Japan did not change its monetary policy as was expected,
but it lowered its forecast for its core inflation for the fiscal year 2021 from 0.5% to 0.1%.
Japanese leading Nikkei 225 index had recently decreased by 0.2%.
The CSI-300 index, which includes the top 300 companies listed in mainland China exchanges,
declined by a half percent, while in Hong Kong, Hang Seng Index recently lost 0.2%.
In Sydney, the stock exchange fell by 0.23%, while Seoul retreated by 0.11%.
American losses and expectations of positive tradings today
Yesterday, US exchanges remained close to their last high records.
However, the Dow Jones Industrial index gave up its opening gains during trading and closed at minor losses.
The Standard and Poor’s 500 indexes declined again after it achieved a record level.
In general, trading was very quiet and within narrow trading margins.
Dow Jones Industrial index
The Dow Jones Industrial index fell by 0.18%, while the Standard and Poor’s index fell by 0.22%,
and the Nasdaq Composite Index retreated by 0.87%.
Futures indicators are likely to slightly rise for today’s opening.
The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee will meet for 2 days, starting from today.
Monetary policy is not expected to be too lax, but investors will pay close attention
to Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s press conference, especially as inflation rises.
Expectations for the start of European indicators in the red zone
Analysts expect that the FTSE index in London will decline by 13 points, the DAX index in Frankfurt will fall by 32 points,
and the CAC index in Paris will retreat by 15 points, while the FTSE MIB index in Milan may rise by a few points.
HSBC, Europe’s largest bank, based in London, released its first-quarter report: Revenues fell short of expectations,
but its pre-tax profits rose by 79% to $ 5.8 billion, exceeding the forecast of $ 3.34 billion.
In Europe, reports from BP, UBS, ABB Schneider Electric, Novartis, and Whitbread will be more interesting during the day,
while in the United States, the market awaits reports from Alphabet, Microsoft, Starbucks, and AMD.