All eyes on upcoming US CPI inflation, EU stocks higher

EU stocks higher after seesaw session on Wall Street

Early trading hours on Wednesday morning saw bullish result for many major European stocks, despite a volatile trading day on Wall Street Tuesday.

London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.64%, France’s FCHI was up 0.55% and Germany’s DDAXI was up 1.1% in the early trading hours of the morning.

Top US stocks also witnessed positive results on Tuesday evening with NASDAQ seeing a 0.98% daily gain and the S&P500 witnessing a 0.25% gain.

US CPI inflation in focus following rise in China producer inflation, German CPI follows

China’s Bureau of Statistics released on Wednesday a report showing that the country’s producer price index for April rose to 8% year-on-year, while the consumer price index (CPI) reached 2.1% as the country continues to battle a wave of COVID-19 infections and strict lockdowns continue.

The US April CPI is also set to be released later today, as anticipation rises for headlines showing that inflation in the country has been on the rise.

In Germany the CPI rate was also up to 7.4% in April from March’s 7.3% as the country battles high food (up by 8.6%) and energy (up by 35.3%) prices.

Coinbase trading volumes sink by over 40%, shares down over 12%

The crypto exchange Coinbase reported a 44% fall in its overall trading volumes in the first quarter of 2022.

The company reported a trading volume of $309 billion this quarter, down from $547 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Shares in the company sank by 12.60% in extended trading following the announcement, as investor sentiment declined.

“So of course, this is the early days of this industry and we are going to continue to invest as the industry matures over time, we’re going to be a very profitable company and more consistently profitable. But for now, regardless of whether the market is up or down, we’re going to keep building. And I think the real key is to mentally flip from seeing down markets as being scary to actually being our opportunities to pull ahead. And that’s exactly what we’re going to be doing in this environment,” Coinbase CEO Brain Armstrong said.

Oil bounces as UAE, Saudi ministers discuss NOPEC bill

Oil prices bounced back up in the early hours of Wednesday morning with Brent Crude up by 3.3% and West Texas Intermediate up by 2.6%.

This came as UAE and Saudi energy ministers discussed the No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels (NOPEC) bill imposed by the US Senate last Thursday that could expose the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and their partners to lawsuits for collusion on boosting crude oil prices.

The ministers noted that such a bill could see oil prices surge by as much as 300% in the future.

“If you hinder that system, you need to watch what you’re asking for, because having a chaotic market you would see … a 200% or 300% increase in the prices that the world cannot handle,” UAE minister of energy Suhail Al Mazrouei told CNBC.

Stablecoin Terra down over 60% Wednesday, Luna dived nearly 80%

The controversial stablecoin Terra (UST), which is pegged to maintain a $1 balance, dipped by 66.8% Wednesday morning, down to $0.3003, its lowest value yet.

Its sister token, Luna, was also down 78% from values as high as $22.96 in the early hours of Wednesday morning to the current $5.04 value.

Terra’s founder Do Kwon tweeted on Tuesday that he was “close to announcing a recovery plan for $UST.”

Note, cryptocurrency CFD trading is restricted in the UK for all retail clients. 

Germany’s Thyssenkrupp raises outlook for sales and profit for 2022

The German industrial giant Thyssenkrupp (TKAG.DE) on Wednesday raised its outlook for sales and operating profit for 2022 after witnessing a rise in selling prices and commodity costs.

“The dynamic movements in commodity and materials prices are weighing on our cash flow at present. However, we expect that there will be sequential improvements for us in the subsequent quarters. A return to positive free cash flow before M&A remains our priority goal. It is important, therefore, to continue to improve the performance of our businesses,” the company’s Chief Financial Officer Klaus Keysberg said in a statement.

The company is now expecting full-year earnings amounting to €2 billion (around $2.1 billion), up from the previous €1.8 billion estimation.

Early Wednesday morning trading hours saw the company’s stock grow by over 8%.