Treasury yields fall as stocks surge | Calamatta Cuschieri

European markets

European markets were all in the green on Thursday as the German, French and UK markets all rose 0.71%, 1.12% and 0.08% respectively. This comes on the heels of the televised French Presidential debate on Wednesday night as Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen battled it out over immigration issues, the French economy and France’s future in the European Union. Polls suggest that Macron won the debate with more than 60% of viewers backing the former Rothschild banker. The Euro gained some ground against the US dollar as it rose by 0.6% during Thursday’s trading session.

European bond yields produced a mix bag of results as the German and French ten year bond rose by 0.4% and 0.83% respectively, with periphery countries, such as Italy and Spain, seeing their ten year yield fall by 2.2% and 1.5% respectively. Another headline that has been widely discussed this week was the bill that the UK would have to pay for leaving the European Union. Some figures suggest that Britain would have to pay as much as €100 billion for leaving the European single market.

American markets

The S&P 500 was marginally up on Thursday as the index made a gain of 0.01% over the previous days’ close. US Treasury yields also rose as investors seem to be expecting a rate hike from the Federal Reserve.

The US dollar rose 0.04% against the Japanese Yen but lost ground against the British Sterling as it fell by 0.39%. Oil fell to its lowest level during Thursday’s trading as Brent Crude stood at $48.70, or 2% lower, which is the lowest it’s been since November. The slump in the price of oil may be due to the recovery in Libyan crude production and rising US output. Gold also took a hit of 1.5% as it traded at $1,229 an ounce. The drop in the price of gold may be explained by the Federal Reserve’s intention to raise interest rates.

Apple shares retreat as Ferrari surges

: Ferrari manages to achieve profit margin of 29.5% in an industry were single digit margins are the norm

While the spotlight may be on the Cupertino based company, as it saw its share price decline by 0.7% during the Thursday’s trading session due to lower iPhone sales, the Italian supercar maker has seen its profit margin increase to Apple-like figures.

Ferrari managed to achieve a profit margin of 29.5% in an industry were single digit margins are the norm. Deliveries of Ferrari’s models surged 50% in the first quarter on demand for the Aperta convertible, which sold out last year before its official debut, as well as the $300,000 GTC4Lusso and the $380,000 F12tdf. Sales of V8-powered cars declined 3%. Ferrari shares rose as much as 6.4% in New York. The stock has surged 39% this year, valuing the company at $15.2 billion.

Disclaimer:

This article was issued by Simon Gauci Borda, Trader at Calamatta Cuschieri. For more information visit, www.cc.com.mt. The information, view and opinions provided in this article is being provided solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice, advice concerning particular investments or investment decisions, or tax or legal advice. Calamatta Cuschieri Investment Services Ltd has not verified and consequently neither warrants the accuracy nor the veracity of any information, views or opinions appearing on this website.