Table of Contents:
A difficult start for Wall Street
Today opened with a negative sign for Wall Street, where investors are closely monitoring the Federal Reserve’s next moves. After a week of unfavorable closings, the Dow Jones recorded its worst series of losses since 2018, while the Nasdaq Composite hit a new closing record. The current situation has led to growing concern about the possibility of a further cut in interest rates.
Expectations for the Federal Reserve
Tomorrow, the Federal Reserve is expected to announce its third consecutive rate cut, with an expected reduction of 25 basis points. This will follow a first cut of half a percentage point, which has already elicited reactions in the market. In the morning, the Dow Jones lost 214.70 points, corresponding to a decline of 0.49%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also recorded significant losses, of 28.60 and 82.95 points, respectively
.
Fluctuations in the oil market
The oil market is not immune to these fluctuations. At Nymex, the price of WTI oil fell by 1.19% to $69.87 per barrel. These changes are indicative of a climate of uncertainty that permeates the markets, influenced by Fed decisions and global economic conditions
.
Growth forecasts in Spain
Despite the difficulties, the Bank of Spain has updated its GDP growth forecasts for 2024, bringing them to 3.1%. This optimism is fueled by household consumption and exports, which show signs of recovery. Even though the recent floods have had an impact, the estimates remain positive for years to come
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Retail sales in the United States
Another positive sign comes from retail sales in the United States, which registered an increase of 0.7% in November, exceeding analysts’ expectations. The total reached 724.6 billion dollars, an increase of 3.8% compared to the previous year. Excluding vehicle sales, the growth was 0.2%, suggesting some resilience
in consumption.
Collaboration between Fincantieri and Sparkle
In a context of increasing attention to infrastructure security, Fincantieri and Sparkle announced a collaboration to analyze the requirements necessary to improve the security of underwater telecommunications. This project involves the creation of two submarine cable connections to connect offshore wind farms to the continental electricity grid in France, an important step towards
energy sustainability.
