US equity investors jumped on an emotional roller-coaster following the release of the inflation data in the US yesterday, yet the core inflation, which filters out the impact of volatile food and energy prices, came in at lowest since September, giving some hope to investors that inflation may soon hit a high and start easing, hence get the Fed to move less hurriedly for raising the interest rates. Perhaps a wishful thinking that helped the US equities gap higher at the open, but couldn’t cement gains as all three major US indices ended the session in the negative. Crude oil, which made a sharp U-turn and jumped above the $100pb level didn’t help.

Apple could buy back $80-$90bn worth of stock & boost dividend by 5-10%

US equity futures are in the positive at the time of recording, hinting at a minor rebound at today’s session, but the high energy prices, the pandemic and the war, combined with the Fed’s tied hands can’t do much to boost the investor mood. Only hope is earnings, but… JP Morgan will announce its Q1 earnings today, and the CEO Dimon warned that the bank could lose about $1 billion on its Russia exposure. JP Morgan has been trading lower since last October despite the hawkish shift in Fed expectations. Worries that the economic slowdown could result in lower trading activity, and lower loan growth, and jeopardize the gains from higher interest margins weigh on the sector appetite. US LNG stocks however continue outperform, and Citi analyst say that Apple could buy back $80-$90bn worth of stock & boost dividend by 5-10%.

Watch the full episode to find out more!

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:27 US inflation hits fresh 40-year high
• 1:53 Market update
• 2:34 US to allow gas with ethanol to decrease price
• 3:18 Crude oil above $100pb, again
• 4:25 Russia to post record surplus
• 6:08 JP Morgan goes to earnings confessional
• 7:40 Citi says Apple could buy back stock & boost dividend

Ipek Ozkardeskaya has begun her financial career in 2010 in the structured products desk of the Swiss Banque Cantonale Vaudoise. She worked at HSBC Private Bank in Geneva in relation to high and ultra-high net worth clients. In 2012, she started as FX Strategist at Swissquote Bank. She worked as a Senior Market Analyst in London Capital Group in London and in Shanghai. She returned to Swissquote Bank as Senior Analyst in 2020.