Futures at a glance
U.S. stock futures are lower on Monday as the first-quarter corporate earnings season kicks off and investors await economic data.
Reporting this week are JPMorgan Chase and BlackRock on Wednesday, with Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and a few others out on Thursday.
Cryptocurrency trending lower as week begins; state legislators work on crypto-friendly laws
Bitcoin joined many of the major cryptocurrencies trading lower early Monday morning as crypto executives and lobbyists in the U.S. — in the absence of federal regulations — are working with state lawmakers across the country to craft favorable legislation, a published report said Monday.
Bitcoin was trading at approximately $42,305 (-0.72%), while Ethereum and Dogecoin were trading at $3,175 (-2.10%) and 14.58 cents, respectively, according to CoinDesk.
Many states are eager to attract the jobs they think the industry will bring and are rushing to grant the legislative wishes of the crypto companies, the report said.
US stocks choppy heading into trading day
| Symbol | Price | Change | %Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | $34,721.12 | +137.55 | +0.40% |
| SP500 | $4,488.28 | -11.93 | -0.27% |
| I:COMP | $13,711.00 | -186.30 | -1.34% |
U.S. stocks were choppy early Monday morning trading between negative and positive territory as first-quarter earnings season kicks off unofficially this week with several of the major banks reporting.
Reporting this week are JPMorgan Chase and BlackRock on Wednesday, with Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and a few others out on Thursday.
Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 lost 0.3% on Friday after Fed officials indicated in notes from their last meeting they were considering raising its benchmark rate by double the normal amount at upcoming meetings.
They also indicated they are likely to shrink the Fed’s bond holdings, which also might push up commercial borrowing rates.
Gas prices down slightly nationally Monday
The average price for a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. slipped on Monday to $4.114, according to the latest numbers from AAA.
The price on Saturday was $4.116.
The previous record high was $4.33, set on Friday March 11, 2022.
JetBlue, Alaska Airlines trim schedules as airlines attempt smoother summer
Airlines are adding staff and cutting flights in an effort to avoid upheaval as both customer demand and labor shortages persist.JetBlue Airways Corp. this weekend said it would reduce flights in May and throughout the summer due to staffing limitations, after canceling more than 300 flights over the weekend.
Alaska Air Group Inc. last week said it would trim spring flying to catch up on pilot training. Meanwhile, other carriers, including American Airlines Group Inc., say they are prepared for the summer surge after a months-long hiring spree.
Carriers say they are taking seriously the lessons of last summer, when operations were strained due to booming demand.
With staffing thin, many airlines were unable to recover quickly from what should have been routine disruptions such as poor weather. Travelers faced cancellations, delays and hours-long waits for customer service help by phone.
Oil was lower in early Asian trading due to the possibility China’s COVID-19 lockdowns will crimp demand.
Crude oil prices could weaken by another 3%-5% if there seems no end in sight for China’s pandemic lockdowns, said Oanda senior market analyst Edward Moya.
WTI crude oil should find decent support at the mid-$90-per-barrel level, but continued U.S. dollar strength could keep commodities vulnerable to further falls, Oanda reported.
Russia threatens legal action if forced into sovereign debt default
Russia will take legal action if the West tries to force it to default on its sovereign debt, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told the pro-Kremlin Izvestia newspaper on Monday, sharpening Moscow’s tone in its financial wrestle with the West.
“Of course we will sue, because we have taken all the necessary steps to ensure that investors receive their payments,” Siluanov told the newspaper in an interview.
“We will present in court our bills confirming our efforts to pay both in foreign currency and in rubles. It will not be an easy process. We will have to very actively prove our case, despite all the difficulties.”
Gold prices higher in early Asian trading Monday
| Symbol | Price | Change | %Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| GOL | $7.04 | -0.17 | -2.36% |
Gold was higher early Monday morning in Asia, trading at $1,948.73 an ounce.
On Friday, gold futures advanced for the session and logged a weekly gain as traders brushed off typically negative factors like rising Treasury yields and a stronger U.S. dollar.
Gold futures for June delivery rose 0.4% to close at $1,945.60 an ounce on Comex, leaving it up 1.1% for the week.
World Bank: War to slash Ukraine’s GDP output by over 45%
Ukraine’s economic output will likely contract by a staggering 45.1% this year as Russia’s invasion has shuttered businesses, slashed exports and rendered economic activity impossible in large swaths of the country, the World Bank said on Sunday.
The World Bank also forecast Russia’s 2022 GDP output to fall 11.2% due to punishing financial sanctions imposed by the United States and its Western allies on Russia’s banks, state-owned enterprises and other institutions.
The World Bank’s “War in the Region” economic update
said the Eastern Europe region, comprising Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova, is forecast to show a GDP contraction of 30.7% this year, due to shocks from the war and disruption of trade.
