Amsterdam (ANP) – After better-than-expected US inflation figures, attention on the Amsterdam stock market turned to retail sales in the world’s largest economy on Wednesday. These may provide additional insight into the buying preferences of US consumers. Attention is also focused on the meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco. It will be Xi’s first visit to the US since 2017 and a year since Xi and Biden last met.
Investors are digesting Chinese retail sales, which rose more than expected in October. This was due to a long holiday period earlier in the month and weaker sales during the same period a year ago, when China was still struggling with severe corona measures. Chinese industrial production also rose faster than expected last month.
Combined with better-than-expected US inflation figures, the Chinese data led to a strong rally in Asian stock markets. Despite a stronger-than-expected contraction in the Japanese economy in the third quarter, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose more than 3 percent on Wednesday and Tokyo’s Nikkei rose 2.5 percent.
Price gain
The AEX index is headed for a slightly higher start. Shares of AEX fund Prosus may benefit from strong price gains by Tencent (up 4 percent) in Hong Kong. The Chinese internet and gaming company, in which tech investor Prosus is a major shareholder, will release quarterly figures today. Insurer can benefit from ASR Goldman Sachs’ buy recommendation. On the other hand, supermarket group Ahold Delhaize has been delisted from being bought by Morgan Stanley.
Alfen continues to be popular among mid-sized companies. Analysts at Berenberg Investment Bank cut their price target on the stock. The manufacturer of charging stations and energy systems saw a significant increase in value this week thanks to a strong quarterly update.
Inflation is on the decline
Wall Street closed with solid gains on Tuesday on hopes that U.S. interest rates will not need to be raised further now that inflation is slowing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.4 percent to 34,827.70. The broader S&P 500 rose 1.9 percent and the Nasdaq tech stock rose 2.4 percent.
The euro was at $1.0871, down from $1.0860 the previous day. U.S. crude was up 0.5 percent at $78.68 a barrel. Brent crude was up 0.6 percent at $82.96 a barrel.
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