An employee monitors the oil cracking complex at the Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez oil refinery in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia.
Andrei Rudakov | Bloomberg | Getty Images
This report comes from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our new international markets newscast. CNBC Daily Open updates investors on everything they need to know, wherever they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.
It looks like the markets are reliving the worst of 2022. But investors are still hoping for a fresh start this year.
What you need to know today
- US stocks had a mixed Friday. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose, but the Nasdaq Composite slipped. Asia-Pacific started the week down, with only China’s Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Component advancing among the major markets.
- PRO With its beaten profits and its vast restructuring plan, Disney has been in the news lately. But is it wise to enter the Magic Kingdom? Two investors argue for and against buying the stock.
The bottom line
A sell-off in US markets, rising oil prices and escalating US-China tensions – it looks like we’re back in the worst part of 2022.
US stocks have had a terrible week. The Nasdaq fell 0.61% on Friday, giving it a 2.41% loss for the week. The Dow gained 0.5% and the S&P rose 0.2%, but they still ended the week lower, with the S&P posting its worst weekly performance in nearly two months.
Rising energy prices are also back. The Brent contract for April, which hedges oil from Europe’s North Sea, hit $86.39 a barrel, after rising more than 8% on the week. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures hit $79.72 a barrel, up 8.63% for the week — its best since October. Those prices climbed about 2% each on Friday after Russia announced it would cut oil production next month to retaliate against Western sanctions.
Relations between the United States and China are unraveling. After the United States shot down a suspected spy balloon last week, the Commerce Department imposed sanctions on six Chinese aerospace companies it says support China’s spy program. The US military shot down a fourth unidentified object on Sunday, following a second downed on Friday and a third over the Yukon on Saturday. Although the origins of the objects are still unclear, it is increasingly likely that more sanctions will come.
Amidst all this, investors are focusing on the upcoming US Consumer Price Index reading for January with renewed intensity. The numbers will indicate whether we will be forced to relive the dark days of 2022, or whether there is hope in at least one part of the economy – American consumers.
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