A really hot week of Central Bank interest rate decisions is coming to an end. The Fed, European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of England (BoE) reported a 0.5% rate hike, which prompted mixed reactions from markets.
Let's take a look at the main financial points of the week:
🚨Elon Musk sold another $3.6 billion worth of Tesla ($TSLA) stocks
🚨Crude Oil ($OIL.WTI) is set for weekly gain
🚨GBP/USD licks BOE-inflicted wounds
Read on for more details! 👇
Markets Remain Volatile After 3 Major Rate Hikes This Week
We are now reaching the end of the busiest week of the year, and 90% of economic releases have already been released. Due to the number of news releases, the markets have experienced high volatility and plenty of price correction.
Currency pairs have specifically witnessed corrections and false breakouts due to the UK, US and Eurozone monetary policy changes. However, the stock market has also generally formed a clear trend.
What’s next? 🤔
Elon Musk sold another $3.6 billion worth of Tesla ($TSLA) stocks
Tesla CEO Elon Musk sold about 22 million more shares in his electric vehicle business, which were worth around $3.6 billion.
It isn't clear if the sales are related to the Twitter acquisition, but it is annoying investors who are upset by the perception that he is diverting the majority of his focus and resources to Twitter rather than Tesla.
Such actions could frustrate Elon's followers and Tesla shareholders.
Crude Oil ($OIL.WTI) set for weekly gain
Oil headed for the biggest weekly gain since early October on signs of tightening supply and the prospect for improved Chinese demand, despite downward pressure from interest-rate hikes.
There are signs that Russian flows to Asia are dipping because of the price cap. Also, China’s rapid dismantling of its Covid Zero policy has prompted optimism over the long-term outlook for demand, although the near-term outlook is uncertain as virus cases surge.
“Supply tightness took precedence over demand concerns,” said Ravindra Rao, head of commodities research at Kotak Securities Ltd. in Mumbai.
GBP/USD licks BOE-inflicted wounds
Despite the latest corrective pullback, $GBP/USD remains on the bear’s radar near 1.2200. One of the reasons for this market reaction was the BoE's decision to raise the key rate by 50 basis points following the Fed.
Other than the BoE-led slump, the US Dollar’s recovery, mainly due to the rush for risk safety, also underpinned the $GBP/USD pair’s fall the previous day. The market’s risk aversion could be linked to the major central banks’ readiness for keeping the higher rates for longer, as well as the fresh Sino-American tussles.
So, this concludes our weekly recap. Have a great weekend and see you next week! 🥳
