市場新聞與洞察

US technology giant Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) released the latest financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2023, after the market closed in the US on Tuesday. Company overview Founded: April 4, 1975 Headquarters: Washington, United States Number of employees: 221,000 (2022) Industry: Information technology Key people: Satya Nadella (executive chairman and CEO), Brad Smith (vice chairman and president), Bill Gates (technical adviser) The results Microsoft reported revenue that beat analyst estimates at $52.857 billion (up by 7% year-over-year) vs. $51.019 billion. Earnings per share also topped expectations at $2.45 per share (up by 10% year-over-year) vs. $2.239 per share estimate.

Company commentary Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO of Microsoft commented on the rise of AI and highlighted company’s focus on the software: ''The world's most advanced AI models are coming together with the world's most universal user interface - natural language - to create a new era of computing.'' ''Across the Microsoft Cloud, we are the platform of choice to help customers get the most value out of their digital spend and innovate for this next generation of AI.'' Amy Hood, executive vice president and CFO highlighted Microsoft Cloud’s revenue for the quarter which increased year-over-year: ''Focused execution by our sales teams and partners in this dynamic environment resulted in Microsoft Cloud revenue of $28.5 billion, up 22% (up 25% in constant currency) year-over-year.'' Share of Microsoft were down by -2.25% on Tuesday at $275.33 before the results were announced. The stock rose by around +4% in the after-hours trading as results beat estimates. Stock performance 1 month: +0.07% 3 months: +13.79% Year-to-date: +14.84% 1 year: +1.92% Microsoft price targets Bank of America: $320 Citigroup: $332 Jefferies: $325 Goldman Sachs: $325 Cowen & Co.: $300 Microsoft Corporation is the 3 rd largest company in the world with a market cap of $2.050 trillion, according to CompaniesMarketCap.

You can trade Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) and many other stocks from the NYSE, NASDAQ, HKEX, ASX, LSE and DE with GO Markets as a Share CFD. Sources: Microsoft Corporation, TradingView, MarketWatch, MetaTrader 5, TipRanks, CompaniesMarketCap, Wikipedia

US food giant The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ: KHC) reported Q1 financial results before the market open on Wall Street on Wednesday. The company topped both revenue and earnings per share (EPS) estimates for the quarter. Company overview • Founded: July 2, 2015 • Headquarters: Chicago, Illinois and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States • Number of employees: 37,000 (2022) • Industry: Food • Key people: Alex Behring (Chairman), John Cahill (Vice chairman), Miguel Patricio (CEO), Paulo Basilio (CFO) The results Kraft Heinz reported revenue of $6.489 billion vs. $6.394 billion expected.

Revenues were up by 7.3% year-over-year. EPS reported at $0.68 per share (up by 7.9% year-over-year) vs. estimate of $0.597 per share. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share.

CEO commentary "We delivered strong results in the first quarter of 2023, with net sales growth across both our North America and International zones that continues to be fueled by Foodservice, Emerging Markets, and U.S. Retail GROW platforms," Kraft Heinz CEO, Miguel Patricio said in a press release. "I am very proud of the entire Kraft Heinz team as we continue to deliver on what we can control by unlocking efficiencies and reinvesting in our brands and capabilities. Our team's continued focus on executing against the strategy is coming to fruition, but it's not time to declare victory just yet.

We remain committed to advancing our business transformation, and we are confident we have the right strategy in place to win with customers and consumers, and to deliver profitable growth and create value for our stockholders," Patricio concluded. The latest results had a positive impact on the stock. Shares were up by over +4% at $40.95 per share.

Stock performance 1 month: +5.28% 3 months: +1.33% Year-to-date: +0.91% 1 year: -5.17% Kraft Heinz price targets JP Morgan: $44 Mizuho Securities: $50 Berenberg Bank: $39 BNP Paribas: $39 Goldman Sachs: $43 The Kraft Heinz Company is the 318 th largest company in the world with a market cap of $50.46 billion, according to CompaniesMarketCap. You can trade The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ: KHC) and many other stocks from the NYSE, NASDAQ, HKEX, ASX, LSE and DE with GO Markets as a Share CFD. Sources: The Kraft Heinz Company, TradingView, MarketWatch, MetaTrader 5, TipRanks, CompaniesMarketCap, Wikipedia, Macrotrends

The Australian Consumer Price Index (CPI) y/y was released at 6.3%, lower than the market forecast of 6.5% and from the previous data of 6.8%. With inflation growth on a clear downtrend following its peak of 8.4% in January 2023, this is likely to reduce the need for further rate increases from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). The Australian cash rate is currently at 3.60% with the RBA anticipated to keep with the previous decision of holding rates steady next Tuesday (2nd May).

While the RBA has previously indicated that some further tightening may be needed to ensure that inflation returns to target, the decision to keep interest rates at 3.60% or comments regarding a pivot in future decisions could lead to further weakening in the AUDUSD. Following the release of the CPI y/y data, the AUDUSD traded lower, breaking out of the channel, and signaling a possible continuation of the downtrend since February 2023. Additionally, with the Ichimoku cloud acting as a resistance and indicating further downside potential, the AUDUSD could trade down to retest the support level of 0.6565.

Beyond the immediate support level, the next key support level is the previous swing low at the 0.64 price area. This move lower could be driven by a further recovery in strength on the DXY and if the RBA decides to hold interest rates at 3.60%.

The Bank of England (BoE) is due to release its interest rate decision today, with markets expecting a 12th consecutive hike to take interest rates to 4.50%. There has been increasing speculation that the BoE is reaching its terminal rates and could follow the lead of the US FOMC and the ECB in signaling a slowdown or pause on further rate hikes following the decision today. However, inflation in the UK is yet to signal a sustained slowdown, with the recent March Consumer Price Index (CPI) still above 10%.

The UK economy has been performing better than expected this year, which has seen the GBPUSD rise steadily to trade just below the key resistance area of 1.27, which was last tested in May 2022. Any indication that the BoE could potentially pause on monetary tightening or dissent in the voting (expected 7-0-2) on the rate hike could see the GBPUSD come under renewed downward pressure. A bearish divergence (prices rallying to new highs while the oscillator retraces from a peak) has formed at the resistance level and could signal the potential for a reversal to the downside.

This reversal could be confirmed if the GBPUSD continues to trade lower past the 1.2550 price level, which coincides with the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level from the short term. The downside on the GBPUSD could be significant, with the next key support level at 1.2350 which aligns with the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level from the longer term.

In the most recent meeting, the US Federal Reserve hiked rates by 25 basis points, as anticipated, to take interest rates in the US to 5.25%, slightly beyond the terminal rate of 5.1%. However, the US Dollar Index (DXY) fell to the key support level of 100.80 which was last reached in April and February 2023, following the release of the rate hike decision. The DXY trading lower was driven primarily due to comments from Chair Powell where he indicated that the Federal Reserve was “closer to the end than the beginning” and that it “felt like they are close, or even there”.

This signaled to the market that the Federal Reserve could pause on future rate hikes, leading to the weakness seen on the DXY. In the lead-up to the Federal Reserve rate decision, the upside on the DXY was limited by the round number resistance area of 102 and the 200-period moving average (200 MA). With the DXY approaching the key support level of 100.80 and the relative strength index (RSI) heading down toward the oversold region, watch out for the development of price action along the support level.

If the DXY continues to trade lower the next key support level is at 100 which was last tested in April 2022.

Following the lead of the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced its decision to hike rates by 25 basis points, taking interest rates in the Eurozone to 3.75% overnight. In the lead-up to the ECB meeting, there was some market speculation for a potential 50bps hike, which saw the EUR/USD trade to a 12-month high, reaching the 1.1095 price area. During the press conference, President Lagarde highlighted that the ECB was not pausing on future rate hikes, but she indicated some “uncertainty in policy transmission” and that it was “sensible to return to more standard increment”.

This led to the EUR/USD reversing strongly to trade lower and retest the 1.10 round number support level. As the EUR/USD continues to fluctuate between the 1.10 and 1.11 price level, further upside potential could be limited, with the key resistance level at the 1.12 price area. If the DXY recovers in strength, look for significant correction to the downside on the EUR/USD with the next key support level at 1.08.

However, confirmation for the downward move would be signaled only if the price breaks below the crucial level of 1.095 which is a confluence of levels with the 23.60% Fibonacci retracement, short-term upward trendline, and the 200 moving average.