📆 Friday, April 19
► European markets are poised for a weekly loss as escalating tensions in the Middle East and weigh on investor sentiment. The Stoxx 600 index declined by 0.6% amidst rising geopolitical risks and concerns about rates staying higher-for-longer in the US with high inflation persisting. In the UK, retail sales showed a modest year-over-year increase of 0.8%, signaling some resilience in consumer spending. Conversely, Germany reported a 2.9% annual drop in producer prices, highlighting deflationary pressures within the manufacturing sector.
► In the US, the markets reacted cautiously with Treasury yields plummeting following a retaliatory strike by Israel on Iran, with the 10-year yield falling as much as 14 basis points. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures dipped by 0.4% and 0.6% respectively, influenced by the Federal Reserve's latest communications suggesting that rate cuts might not be as imminent as hoped as well as mixed earnings reports and other geopolitical concerns. Meanwhile, Netflix exceeded expectations with a significant jump in subscribers, although its shares dropped slightly in after-hours trading, reflecting the complex sentiment currently driving the market. While Q1 has been again a very strong quarter for Netflix, the streaming giant gave a rather disappointing Q2 revenue forecast.
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