Thursday 5 August 2021 08:07 Date
The Amsterdam Stock Exchange is expected to start flat on Thursday. On Wall Street, the major indexes closed mostly at a loss on Wednesday evening, while Asian stock markets remained close to home this morning.
On Wednesday, the AEX index once again managed to tighten its record with an increase of 0.8 percent to 766.24 points. Other major European indices managed to find their way higher.
Consequently, European stocks ignored a lower open on Wall Street. A disappointing report from salary processor ADP, which is seen as a harbinger of the most important macro data in the world, or the US jobs report released on Friday, negative reception of the numbers report from General Motors weighed on sentiment.
A stronger-than-expected PMI for the services sector, which is crucial for the US economy, also pushed interest rates slightly. The 10-year US Treasury yield rose 2 basis points to 1.20%.
This return is still very low historically. As a result, stock alternatives remain scarce, while central banks around the world remain open to the money taps.
On Wall Street, the fairly traditionally composed Dow Jones closed down about 1 per cent on Wednesday night. Automaker General Motors, not a component of Dow, fell 9 percent. The tech stock Nasdaq managed to close in the green.
Oil prices have also come under pressure. Crude oil futures for September closed down 3.4 percent on the New York Mercantile Exchange at $68.15 on Wednesday, after the latest data from the US Energy Agency (EIA) showed that US crude stocks fell last week.
There are no outliers to report among the major indices in the Asian stock markets this morning. Stock markets are trading in the range of a few tenths of a percent compared to Wednesday’s close.
In addition to corporate data, investors in Europe today are also looking forward to German industrial orders in June, French industrial production and above all the Bank of England interest rate decision. In addition, weekly aid requests are due this afternoon in America. The latter number deserves more attention, given the jobs report is released tomorrow.
company news
SBM Offshore saw a slight decline in core revenue in the first six months of this year. SBM has also kept its outlook and introduced a standard order book.
Vajron’s turnover decreased slightly in the first half of 2021 by 0.8 percent to 277 million euros. The consensus has taken into account a decrease in sales volumes to 274 million euros. Fajron’s net profit fell by about 15 percent year-on-year to 26.9 million euros. Analysts estimated net profit at €30.3 million, down 4 per cent from €31.6 million in the first six months of 2020. Vajron set forecasts for 2021. The capable preparer continues to rely on increased sales and aims to acquire a REBITDA of 118 to 124 million euros. In 2020, Fagron was valued at 124 million euros.
Pharming saw a rebound in revenue in the second quarter after weak first quarter, while half-year profit fell due to higher costs. Revenue rose 15 percent to $50 million in the second quarter and was 14 percent higher than the first.
KPN has entered into a €1.0 billion credit facility, the interest of which is linked to the Dutch telecoms company’s sustainability performance.
Close positions on Wall Street
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.5 percent to 4,402.64 points on Wednesday, the Dow Jones lost 0.9 percent to 3,4792.67 points, and the Nasdaq closed 0.1 percent higher at 14,780.53 points.
