市場新聞與洞察

Walmart tops expectations for Q2 – the stock is up Walmart Inc. (WMT) announced its Q2 financial results before the market open on Wall Street on Tuesday. World’s largest supermarket chain reported results that exceeded analyst expectations, sending the stock price higher. The company reported revenue of $152.859 billion (up by 8.4% year-over-year) vs. $150.994 billion expected.

Earnings per share reported at $1.77 per share for the quarter vs. $1.62 per share estimate. Doug McMillon, President and CEO of Walmart commented on the latest results: ''We’re pleased to see more customers choosing Walmart during this inflationary period, and we’re working hard to support them as they prioritize their spending. The actions we’ve taken to improve inventory levels in the U.S., along with a heavier mix of sales in grocery put pressure on profit margin for Q2 and our outlook for the year.

We made good progress throughout the quarter operationally to improve costs in our supply chain, and that work is ongoing. We continue to build on our strategy to expand our digital businesses, including the continued strength we see in our international markets.'' Walmart Inc. (WMT) chart The stock was up by over 6% on Tuesday, trading at $140.233 a share. Here is how the stock has performed in the past year: 1 Month +8.62% 3 Month +7.14% Year-to-date -2.74% 1 Year -6.62% Walmart price targets Deutsche Bank $142 Raymond James $140 BMO Capital $160 Cowen & Co. $150 Morgan Stanley $145 UBS $152 Credit Suisse $133 Wells Fargo $130 Walmart is the 14 th largest company in the world with a market cap of $383.98 billion.

You can trade Walmart Inc. (WMT) and many other stocks from the NYSE, NASDAQ, HKEX and the ASX with GO Markets as a Share CFD. Sources: Walmart Inc., TradingView, MetaTrader 5, Benzinga, CompaniesMarketCap

The USDJPY has been in an extremely strong upward trend since September 2021. This pair's recent price action has also been charactarised by relatively weak retracements as it has trended higher. Inflationary pressures have acted as a strong catalyst for the USD against most other currencies further aided by the Federal Reserve taking a strong stance against inflation with a series of aggressive interest rate hikes.

At the same time, the JPY has remained weak as the Central Bank of Japan has refused to intervene and shift from its dovish stance. The most recent retracement shows the potential for a good risk/reward Long trade. On the chart, it can be seen that the price has pulled back to the 23.60% Fibonacci level, which is at 132/133JPY.

This area also doubles as a support zone with the prior resistance level becoming a level of support which is another sign that the trend may continue. On the weekly chart, the characteristics of the candlesticks near the support zone also support the premise that the price may bounce. The candles have long wicks touching the support area indicating that the buyers are soaking up the supply.

They have also closed near their opening price again showing how buyers are soaking up the supply. The 4-hour chart shows a consolidation of the price forming a triangle, with the potential to break out to the upside. This may provide an alternative entry signal for the same overall strategy.

An important aspect to remember when trading this strategy is to ensure that price occurs with relatively high volume. Large volume indicates that buyers are regaining control over the price, and that sellers have become exhausted. Potential risks There are some risks with this trade.

Firstly, the pair is already quite overextended with the price at multi-decade highs. In addition, with US inflation fears potentially easing and interest rate hikes priced in already, the current price may be near its peak.

USDJPY ready to bounce or retrace further. The USDJPY has been recently provided great buying opportunities for traders. However, in recent days it has posted its largest drop since beginning the current upward at the beginning of January 2021.

The question remains, is this just a standard retracement or is it a symbol of a much bigger reversal. In the last few months, the USD has risen sharply as the market has responded to inflation fears and geopolitical events. With inflation levels at record levels across much of the developed world many Central Banks have shifted to a hawkish stance regarding their monetary policy with the USA being a prime example of this.

On the contrary, the Central Bank of Japan has remained dovish almost acting as a lone solider compared to other countries in this regard. Despite this, as bond yields have begun to settle down and the market has begun to price in recession fears and inflation, the YEN has become attractive again. Technical Analysis Looking at the technical elements of the chart, the price is down from the multi decade highs of 139 that it reached in the middle of July.

Importantly the price has also dropped below the most recent support level. In addition, the price has also breached the 50-day moving average. The question that remains is whether this is a simple retracement or the signs of a reversal occurring.

There are two characteristics of this price action that support the potential bounce back to the upside for this currency pair. Firstly, on the daily, chart, although the price did break through the initial first level of support it is currently holding the next stronger level down at 131/132. In addition, looking at the weekly chart, the price is showing a relatively strong bounce off the same 131/132 zone.

This multi timeframe analysis, further supports the continuation of the upward trend of the pair. The midterm buy target may be a retest of the 140 level. There is a large risk with this trade.

If the ‘Top’ is indeed ‘in’ and the pair does start to falter, then there is risk of massive selling. This is because the pair is already so overextended to the buy side. In addition, a rush to close Yen short positions may further accelerate the move back downward.

If this does occur and the 130 level breaks it may see the price fall to the 125 level. The short-term future of the pair will still likely be determined by short term economic news and activity within both Japan and the USA.

US economic data revealed last night shows that the country’s GDP has shrunk by 0.9%, although some are remaining positive that a recession may still be avoided. Despite the worrying figures, Federal Reserve Chair, Jerome Powell, outlined his belief that due to low unemployment figures of 3.6% and a strong market for jobs with 11 million job openings that there may be a 'soft landing'. Joe Biden commented, “It’s no surprise that the economy is slowing down as the Federal Reserve acts to bring down inflation.” More US CPI data is expected to be announced tonight.

In response to the GDP figure, the US indices had another green day with the Dow Jones, the Nasdaq, and the S&P500 all rising 1.03%, 1.08%, and 1.21% respectively. In terms of share price movement, Meta’s stock price dipped 5.22% as it posted its first-ever quarterly drop in revenue, signaling how interest rate hikes have been impacting growth companies. The data also followed through to the Australian market with the yield on 3-year government bonds falling to 3.1%.

The ASX200 also continued its momentum for the week as it pushed higher again on Thursday. Brent Crude Oil had a mixed day ending the day flat at $107.58. Gold continued to bounce off its support zone and climbed up 1.25% and Natural Gas fell 4.66% as it continues to pull back from its recent highs dropping 4.66%.

FOREX and Cryptocurrency The USD dropped sharply as the GDP figures were announced. It recovered briefly, before selling back down, closing towards the lowest price of the day, a total drop of 0.28%. Bitcoin and Ethereum also gained momentum as money continued to flow back into risk assets, with the latter jumping to its highest level since the middle of July.

ETHUSD closed at $1726 and Bitcoin at $23,860.

Salesforce.com Inc. (CRM) reported its fourth-quarter earnings results after the closing bell over Wall Street today – surpassing analyst expectations. World’s leading customer relationship management (CRM) company reported revenue of $7.326 billion (an increase of 26% year-over-year) vs. $7.242 billion expected. Earnings per share reported at $0.84 a share vs. $0.75 a share expected. ''We had another phenomenal quarter and full-year of financial results,'' Marc Benioff, Chair and Co-CEO of Salesforce said following the latest results. ''As we continue to see tremendous demand from customers, we’re raising our FY23 re venue guidance to $32.1 billion at the high-end of range, with non-GAAP operating margin of 20%, and operating cash flow growth of 22% year-over-year,'' Benioff continued.

Bret Taylor, Co-CEO of Salesforce, also commented on the strong financial results: ''With our customers’ success driving our financial success, we’re generating disciplined, profitable growth at scale quarter after quarter.'' ''Our Customer 360 platform has never been more strategic or relevant in driving the growth and resilience of our customers around the world.'' Salesforce.com Inc. (CRM) Share price of Salesforce was little changed at the end of the trading day on Wall Street Tuesday, down by 0.78% at $208.36 per share. Here is how the stock has performed in the past year – 1 Month: -10.01% 3 Month: -26.69% Year-to-date: -17.80% 1 Year: -2.15% Salesforce.com Inc. is the 51 st largest company in the world with total market cap of $205.75 billion. You can trade Salesforce.com Inc. (CRM) and many other stocks from the NYSE, NASDAQ, HKEX and the ASX with GO Markets as a Share CFD.

Sources: Salesforce.com Inc., TradingView, MetaTrader 5, CompaniesMarketCap

Salesforce the worlds #1 customer relationship management (CRM) platform has just announced record fourth quarter and full fiscal 2022 results exceeding expectations. The pandemic-led shift to hybrid work has kept up a strong demand for its cloud-based software. Total fourth quarter revenue was $7.33 billion, an increase of 26% year over year, and 27% in constant currency.

Salesforce’s subscription and support revenue for the fourth quarter also rose 24.7% to $6.83 Billion. “We had another phenomenal quarter and full-year of financial results,” said Marc Benioff, Chair and Co-CEO of Salesforce. With our customers’ success driving our financial success, we’re generating disciplined, profitable growth at scale quarter after quarter,” said Bret Taylor, Co-CEO of Salesforce. “Our Customer 360 platform has never been more strategic or relevant in driving the growth and resilience of our customers around the world.” Salesforce has also been working to integrate Slack after its $27.7 billion purchase of the instant messaging platform, as well as adding products in a bid to sell more tools to existing customers. Analysts see a lot of room to increase sales of the company’s flagship software that lets businesses manage and interact with customers.

Salesforce believes the software market can grow double digits over the next several years, as companies across the globe continue to have conversations about facilitating hybrid and remote work models. Salesforce has not slowed down Slack’s roadmap, with the platform launching Slack Huddles and Clips in the second half of 2021. Salesforce said it expects $1.5 billion in sales form Slack in its fiscal year 2023.

Salesforce’s stock price has been on a downhill ride in the past several months, falling more than 30% from it’s November record high of over $310. Shares have recently increased over 4% and are currently trading at $209.65. Salesforce (CRM) Salesforce.com Inc. is the 51 st largest company in the world with total market cap of $205.75 billion Gavin Patterson the Chief Revenue Office said the global sanctions against Russia arising out of the war with Ukraine will have “minimal impact” on Salesforce’s business and haven’t forced the company to take any actions.

You can trade Salesforce.com Inc. (CRM) and many other stocks from the NYSE, NASDAQ, HKEX and the ASX with GO Markets as a Share CFD. Sources: Reuters, Yahoo Finance, itnews