There is plenty of pessimism in the market, which affects the mood of investors and pushes them away from buying risky assets. On top of everything else, not to mention the rise in US bond yields and the escalation of the geopolitical conflict, information began to arrive today that the number of new COVID cases has sharply increased in mainland China. It prompts many local authorities to tighten control over the movement of citizens. According to the latest data, about 4.8% of China's gross domestic product has suffered due to measures introduced to control COVID.
According to official announcements, entertainment venues, including Internet cafes, were temporarily closed in the center of Shanghai earlier this week. According to a local news agency, many schools in the central Chinese city of Xi'an canceled classes for most students on Tuesday.
The overall situation with COVID worsened at the end of last week when the National Day holiday ended. If the situation continues to deteriorate sharply, it is possible to introduce stricter restrictive measures, which will create risks for supply chains and spur global inflation.
Premarket
Angi's securities rose by 2% in the premarket after a new CEO was appointed.
KLA, a semiconductor equipment and services company, will reportedly suspend sales in China to comply with US export controls. KLA shares fell 2.4% in the premarket on this announcement.
Instagram Facebook and Atlantic Equities announced today that they are revising the Meta rating to "neutral" from "buy," which affected the share price of the parent companies, Facebook and Instagram. The firm said Meta faces increasingly challenging growth prospects due to macroeconomic hurdles. At the moment of the action, Meta fell by 1.3% in the premarket.
BlackRock shares were downgraded to "neutral" from "buy" at UBS, while the asset management company's target share price was lowered to $585 per share from $700. UBS said that BlackRock faces a certain risk due to its position on investing in ESG.
The securities of gaming company Roblox fell by 4.3% in the premarket after a new report by Barclays described the shares as "undervalued." The bank said that the gaming operator was in charge during the pandemic, but now the growth will be more restrained since its key rivals have already established themselves well enough in the market.
As for the technical picture of the S&P500, yesterday, there was another decline in the trading instrument. Now trading is below $3,608, which makes it difficult for the index to recover even in the short term. The bulls will expect a dash to $3,608 at the beginning of the regular session. But only a breakdown of this level will return the trend to an upward correction. The breakdown of $ 3,608 will support a new upward momentum, already aimed at the resistance of $3,645 and $3,677. The furthest target will be in the area of $3,706. In the event of further downward movement, the bulls will declare themselves in the area of $3,579, as it was already today. However, a breakdown of this range will quickly push the trading instrument to $3,544 and open up the possibility of updating support at $3,507 – a new annual minimum for the index.
