The corporate earnings season in the US started negatively. The ECB is on the verge of tightening monetary policy

JPMorgan started the quarterly earnings season with disappointing results. JPMorgan’s first-quarter earnings fell by 42%. The report missed Wall Street estimates due to higher-than-expected debt reserves as the bank forecasted a higher probability of declining reserves risk.

Asset management firm BlackRock reported quarterly results that exceeded top and net income expectations due to the growth of assets under management.

Canada is struggling with high inflation – the latest consumer price report shows that prices are rising at the fastest pace in 30 years. That data, along with a strong labor market, left the central bank with no choice but to raise interest rates. Moreover, the Bank of Canada immediately raised the interest rate from 0.5% to 1%. At the press conference, the Bank of Canada Governor said that the central bank is ready to act as decisively as necessary to achieve the inflation target and return to a neutral range of 2% and 3%. The rise in interest rates in the medium term is accompanied by an increase in the national currency.

More than half of German citizens oppose the immediate embargo on oil and gas from Russia.

On Wednesday, oil prices rose for the second day in a row, rising by about 4% after jumping more than 6% in the previous session. Crude oil prices have been rising since Tuesday, when China lifted some of its strict Covid blockade measures over the past two weeks, raising hopes of increasing consumption by the world’s second-largest oil consumer. Crude oil inventories rose 9.4 million barrels last week, compared to an increase of 2.4 million barrels the previous week. Analysts had expected an average weekly increase of 2.4 million barrels.

Stock indices of the Asia-Pacific region traded higher yesterday. Japanese Nikkei 225 (JP225) gained 1.93%, Australian S&P/ASX 200 (AU200) added 0.34%, and Hang Seng of Hong Kong (HK50) jumped by 0.26%. The Bank of Korea surprised markets with a rate hike, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore also tightened its monetary policy.