"Bunge and Viterra report extensive damage to terminals in Mykolayiv along the Black Sea Coast, which provides further evidence that Ukrainian grain will not be shipped via the Black Sea indefinitely," said AgResource. Russia's attack on at least two grain storage facilities in Ukraine has traders doubting that Black Sea ports will reopen for shipments anytime soon. Still, Jefferies cut its price target on Smurfit's London-listed stock to 3700p from 3900p, citing wider macro-economic and geopolitical uncertainty. "We expect Smurfit to demonstrate earnings resilience this cycle, justifying a re-rating versus history." While investors are wary about how macro uncertainty might affect short-term demand and pricing, Jefferies said Smurfit has attractions for longer-term investors looking for exposure to companies aiming to benefit from e-commerce and increased environmental sustainability. Smurfit Kappa's earnings strength could boost its shares, said Jefferies, upgrading its recommendation on the paper and packaging company to buy from hold. Read: Fed's Harker Says Some Economic Contraction Possible Powell's "continued emphasis on the need for 'compelling' evidence that inflation is falling suggests officials will repeat last week's larger 75bp hike at the next FOMC meeting," said Capital Economics' Michael Pearce.
Meanwhile, the market consensus remains around another steep rate hike next month. He noted "I don't see the likelihood of a recession as particularly elevated right now," while adding "you should know that no one is very good at forecasting recession very far out." Whatever positives came out of Powell's testimony, "it likely won't bring enough buyers into the market to push us significantly higher," wrote Shawn Cruz, head trading strategist at TD Ameritrade.Īcross his comments Wednesday, Powell said repeatedly the Fed is not trying to cause a recession but one can't be ruled out as officials confront a very challenging landscape. On Wall Street, stocks couldn't hold on to gains, as investors weighed Powell's renewed vow on inflation and even after he told lawmakers that a slower pace of interest rate hikes is possible. In Asia, shares were broadly higher the dollar, Treasury yields and gold edged lower while oil and base metals extended their recent slide.Įuropean shares face further losses on Thursday after Jerome Powell acknowledged that the Federal Reserve's rate-raising campaign could cause an economic downturn. You may have to select a menu option or click a button.Eurozone, Germany, France, UK Flash PMI ECB Economic Bulletin France Business Sentiment Index UK Public Sector Finances, CBI Distributive Trades Survey EU New Commercial Vehicle Registrations updates from Wacker Chemie, Siemens, Bunzl, Serco, FresnilloĮurope faces another negative opening session as investors continue to consider the likelihood of a recession following Powell's latest comments.