The main European and Asian financial market indices are weak today.
Despite a general increase in volatility on equity markets, the picture remains one of lateralization from the recent highs.
This dynamic could be due to the publication of the quarterly reports of various companies, and to the well-known phenomenon of “selling on the news”.
In fact, in many cases the quarterly reports show excellent performance and a better-than-expected outlook, but in reality most of these expectations had already been discounted by investors, with many traders inclined to take profits instead.
In fact, in Europe, the corporate results picture was mixed, with Swatch Group, for example, losing 1.19% after posting the first annual loss in its history. In contrast, Diageo, the world’s leading producer of alcoholic beverages, was up 3.04% after reporting an unexpected rise in revenues supported by strong demand in the US.
In the US, however, things looked better as the major US indices closed higher yesterday.
For example, Facebook‘s quarterly results were excellent, despite closing the day on the downside due to speculation of possible future revenue declines as a result of changes to Apple‘s privacy policy.
Tesla, on the other hand, posted disappointing Q4 2020 figures, but still closed the day on a positive note.
Asian markets closed with a sharp correction, following last night’s decline in US futures.
Today’s data are expected to include annual and quarterly GDP figures for Germany, Spain and France, as well as the German unemployment rate, Canadian GDP, US personal income and US consumer sentiment.
Financial market indices: Amazon
In particular, eToro analyst Edoardo Fusco Femiano focused his analysis on the Amazon stock.
This is one of the most eagerly awaited quarterly reports, although it is only due to be published on February 2nd.
In recent weeks, several analysts have reviewed downwards the estimates of earnings per share, whereas some business houses have raised the target price up to $4,000.
The fact is that Amazon has for years been one of the technology companies generating the highest returns, and thus dividends. Earnings of around $70 per share are expected for 2020, so if 25% of these earnings are distributed, a dividend of around $18 per share is expected.
