AIRLINK 62.48 Increased By ▲ 2.05 (3.39%)
BOP 5.36 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.19%)
CNERGY 4.58 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-0.43%)
DFML 15.50 Increased By ▲ 0.66 (4.45%)
DGKC 66.40 Increased By ▲ 1.60 (2.47%)
FCCL 17.59 Increased By ▲ 0.73 (4.33%)
FFBL 27.70 Increased By ▲ 2.95 (11.92%)
FFL 9.27 Increased By ▲ 0.21 (2.32%)
GGL 10.06 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (1%)
HBL 105.70 Increased By ▲ 1.49 (1.43%)
HUBC 122.30 Increased By ▲ 4.78 (4.07%)
HUMNL 6.60 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (0.92%)
KEL 4.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-1.1%)
KOSM 4.48 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-1.97%)
MLCF 36.20 Increased By ▲ 0.79 (2.23%)
OGDC 122.92 Increased By ▲ 0.53 (0.43%)
PAEL 23.00 Increased By ▲ 1.09 (4.97%)
PIAA 29.34 Increased By ▲ 2.05 (7.51%)
PIBTL 5.80 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-2.36%)
PPL 107.50 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (0.12%)
PRL 27.25 Increased By ▲ 0.74 (2.79%)
PTC 18.07 Increased By ▲ 1.97 (12.24%)
SEARL 53.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.63 (-1.17%)
SNGP 63.21 Increased By ▲ 2.01 (3.28%)
SSGC 10.80 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.47%)
TELE 9.20 Increased By ▲ 0.71 (8.36%)
TPLP 11.44 Increased By ▲ 0.86 (8.13%)
TRG 70.86 Increased By ▲ 0.95 (1.36%)
UNITY 23.62 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (0.47%)
WTL 1.28 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
BR100 6,944 Increased By 65.8 (0.96%)
BR30 22,827 Increased By 258.6 (1.15%)
KSE100 67,142 Increased By 594.3 (0.89%)
KSE30 22,090 Increased By 175.1 (0.8%)
Markets

Oil surges as US stocks waffle on valuation fears

  • However, Coinbase shares finished at $328.28, well below the session peak of $429.54.
Published April 15, 2021

NEW YORK: Oil prices surged Wednesday and most European markets closed higher on increased optimism for a post-pandemic economic rebound, though Wall Street struggled with concerns over excessive equity valuations.

And crude prices added more than four percent, responding to news of drawdowns from US reserves and higher demand forecasts from the International Energy Agency as the global growth outlook brightens.

"With other risk assets also rising, there is no doubt that optimism over the re-opening of global economies has also helped to fuel the rally after a lengthy consolidation in recent weeks," said Fawad Razaqzada of Thinkmarkets.

While both the IEA and OPEC, the oil producing countries' club, have lifted demand expectations, the cartel and its allies plan to reverse pandemic production cuts only slowly.

"Demand looks set to recover at a quicker pace than supply growth. Against this backdrop, investors are happy to keep buying the dips in crude oil," Razaqzada said.

However, the mood was less decisive on Wall Street, where only the Dow among major indices eked out a gain as traders became wary that a recent string of equity rallies may have reached its end.

CFRA Research's Sam Stovall said in a note that strategists worry "equities are priced to perfection" following a series of market records in anticipation of the just-begun earnings season.

On Wednesday, leading banks reported blowout profits after they unlocked funds set aside for bad loans.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve reported business activity had increased to "a moderate pace" in recent weeks, though it warned of supply chains snarls that pushed prices up.

The Nasdaq fell the most with a 1.0 percent loss, where attention was dominated by the debut of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, which advanced 31.3 percent from its reference price amid strong investor interest in bitcoin.

However, Coinbase shares finished at $328.28, well below the session peak of $429.54.

Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $64,870 ahead of the launch, marking continued frenzy around the virtual currency despite concerns about a bubble.

Across the Atlantic, London and Paris were up while Frankfurt fell as Europe enters its own earnings season, with UK supermarket giant Tesco announcing a surge in profits.

The pound, euro and yen all gained against the dollar after a string of strong US inflation readings, the latest of which was the consumer price index for March released on Tuesday, which showed it rising 2.6 percent year-on-year.

Comments

Comments are closed.