Read the top 5 market news this Thursday

The main Wall Street indices pointed to a rising opening of the Stock Exchanges in New York this Thursday (April 18, 2024), before the release of Netflix's first quarter results, the 1st of big techs to present their reports.

Still in corporate news, chipmaker TSMC exceeded market expectations with strong numbers, while in the consumer market commodities, oil fell, with a possible US action to reimpose sanctions on Venezuelan exports. In Brazil, investors echo speeches by the president of the Brazilian monetary authority, after the loosening of the fiscal target and uncertainties in the external scenario, indicating the possibility of smaller cuts in the interest rate.

1. Netflix subscriber growth in focus

The earnings season in the US gains prominence this Thursday (April 18) with the presentation of the Netflix report, one of the main technology stocks that led the market to reach new records this year.

The platform streaming recorded robust subscriber growth in H2 2023, adding around 22 million users after tightening restrictions on password sharing globally.

However, sustaining this pace of growth will be a challenge, according to data from LSEG, which projects an increase of 5 million subscribers for the 1st quarter ending in March – a figure significantly higher than the 1.8 million in the same period last year, but which would indicate a slowdown compared to the last 2 quarters of 2023.

Netflix also reported that 23 million subscribers opted for the ad-supported plan, with expectations of an increase in this modality throughout the year. Attention is also focused on investments in content, with the company forecasting to spend up to US$17 billion in 2024.

In the US futures market, indices are trying to recover after recent falls.

At 7:53 am (Brasília time), the Dow futures contract was 0.24% higher, the S&P 500 futures rose 0.28%, and the Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.39%.

The main indices had closed lower in the previous session, with continued losses throughout the week.

The economic highlights of the day are new unemployment benefit applications and sales of existing properties in March.

The focus also turns to the results of companies such as Alaska Air and KeyCorp, before the presentation of Netflix's results. Equifax and Las Vegas Sands are also watched after significant premarket moves.

2. TSMC rides the AI ​​wave in Q1

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, the world leader in contract chip manufacturing, released this Thursday (April 18) results above expectations for the 1st quarter, with a 9% increase in net profit driven by growing interest in AI (artificial intelligence). ).

This advancement in the AI ​​sector contributed to TSMC overcoming the reduced demand for electronics, which is still resonating since the pandemic. Q1 revenue grew 16.5% year-over-year, in part due to a lower comparative base, as 2023 was marked by weak demand for chips.

TSMC's results are considered a key indicator for global semiconductor demand, reflecting the company's strategic position in the production chain and the importance of its customers, including giants such as Nvidia and Apple.

The semiconductor sector faced challenges on Wednesday (Apr 17), after ASML, the main supplier of chip manufacturing equipment, reported lower-than-expected bookings for the 1st quarter, despite sales in China remaining stable despite the restrictions imposed by the USA.

3. Tesla could bounce back stronger – Morgan Stanley

Earlier this week, Tesla announced major cuts to its workforce, reducing more than 10% of its global workforce, which totaled approximately 140,000 employees at the end of 2023.

The measure comes after a challenging quarter for the electric vehicle manufacturer, which reported an 8.5% drop in deliveries in the 1st quarter compared to the previous year – the 1st reduction since 2020, amid fierce strategic competition Chinese market.

Furthermore, the company's CEO, Elon Musk, confirmed that the company sent unsatisfactory severance packages to some of the laid-off workers, according to an internal email released on Wednesday (April 17).

Tesla shares fell by more than 10% in the last week, accumulating a drop in value of more than 37% for the year.

Despite this, Morgan Stanley maintains a positive view, betting on Tesla's recovery after the period of downturn in the electric vehicle sector.

The bank highlights the importance of Tesla's advances in artificial intelligence, maintaining a recommendation of “overweight” for the company’s shares.

To gain recognition as an AI company, Tesla needs to stabilize its core business and address recent negative reviews, the Morgan Stanley analysis highlighted.

4. Oil stabilized after sanctions were reimposed on Venezuela

Oil prices were falling on Thursday (April 18), intensifying the fall of the previous session, despite the reimposition of sanctions on Venezuelan oil by the Biden government. The decision came after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro failed to fulfill his promises to hold national elections.

At 7:54 am, US oil futures registered a drop of 1.27%, trading at US$81.64 per barrel, while Brent fell 1.31%, trading at US$86.15 per barrel.

The reimposition of sanctions aims to contain the flow of Venezuelan oil, which saw a 12% increase in 2023, reaching around 700 thousand barrels per day, after an easing of sanctions by the US government. Despite this, expectations of a tighter market were tempered by data indicating record US production and a significant increase in oil inventories.

The US Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday (April 17) that the country's oil inventories grew by 2.7 million barrels in the week ending April 12, totaling 460 million barrels, almost double forecast. by analysts.

5. Campos Neto reflects on the loosening of the fiscal target and external turmoil

This Thursday (April 18), investors echo the statements made on Wednesday (April 17) by the president of the BC (Central Bank), Roberto Campos Neto, who said that maintaining the scenario of high uncertainty could lead to a decrease in the pace of cuts in the basic interest rate of the Brazilian economy by the Copom (Monetary Policy Committee). According to Campos Neto, the BC still needs to understand how the recent change in the government's fiscal target for 2025 should affect the reaction function.

Campos Neto stated that the loss of credibility in relation to the fiscal anchor harms the monetary anchor, as both must go hand in hand. Higher risk premiums in a pessimistic scenario make conducting monetary policy more difficult, in his opinion.

This week, the government decided to relax the primary result target to zero for 2025, against the previous forecast of a surplus of 0.5% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product).

The deterioration of the international scenario also weighs heavily, given inflation data that is hotter than expected in the American market and speeches by the president of the Fed (Federal Reserve), Jerome Powell, indicating that interest rates may need to stay high for longer until the North American BC is confident that inflation follows the 2% target more consistently.

At 7:55 am (Brasília time), the ETF EWZ rose 0.46% in the pre-market.

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With information from Investing Brazil.