US CPI data in focus, Coinbase loses over $1 billion in Q2 earnings

EU markets continue volatile run ahead of US inflation data   

European markets continued their volatile trend this Wednesday morning as investors are focusing on the upcoming US inflation data.  

The DAX was 0.3% lower in early trade on Wednesday, the FTSE 100 was down by 0.1% and the CAC 40 was also down by 0.1%.   

China’s CPI and producer price indexes grew at a slower-than-expected rate in July, as the country continued to attempt to battle COVID-19. In Germany, the CPI rose 0.9% in July, falling only marginally to 7.5% on the year.  

US CPI in focus  

The upcoming release of the US consumer price index data is in focus today. US CPI is due at 12:30 GMT and is expected to come in at 8.7% for July, down from the 9.1% in June.  

A lower CPI could provide clues to the US Federal Reserve’s future monetary policy plans.  

The Federal Reserve mentioned that several monthly declines in CPI growth would be needed before it stops the aggressive monetary policy tightening.  

Oil lower also pushed by CPI anticipation  

Oil prices were also in the negative on Wednesday morning pushed by CPI data anticipation and after industry data showed US crude inventories rose last week.  

Brent crude futures were 0.8% lower and valued at $95.57 barrel while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures declined by 1% and were valued at $89.37 a barrel.  

US crude stocks rose by 2.2 million barrels for the week ended 5 August.   

Gold futures lower  

Gold futures were also bearish on Wednesday, falling by 0.22% and costing $1,808.45/oz.  

Silver futures also followed the negative trend, down by 0.4%, platinum futures were 0.37% lower and palladium futures declined by 0.91%.  

E.ON cuts value of stake in Nord Stream 1  

E.ON, Europe’s biggest operator of energy networks, said on Wednesday that it cut the value of its stake in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline by around $715 million, citing “heightened uncertainty” of current events.  

“The current energy crisis finally makes clear that Europe needs to transform its energy system. To be independent of Russian gas. To ensure supply security,” the company’s CEO, Leonhard Birnbaum, said in a statement.  

Despite the negative news, the company’s stock was up by 0.23% this morning.   

Prudential sees a rise of 8% in H1 operating profit  

Insurance company Prudential posted a rise of 8% in its first-half operating profit on Wednesday, but warned of challenging conditions as COVID restrictions continue to be imposed in some countries in Asia.  

The Asia-focused finance firm said its Trusted operating profit wise one $1.66 billion for the period, up from $1.57 billion a year earlier.  

“We achieved stronger APE sales growth in the second quarter as conditions started to normalise in most markets,” the company’s CEO, Mark FitzPatrick, said referring to the firm’s sales recovery following disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“Although there are signs that COVID-19-related impacts in many of our markets are stabilising, over the remainder of the year we expect that operating conditions may continue to be challenging,” FitzPAtrick added.  

The company’s stock was 0.55% higher following the news.   

Musk sells $6.9 bn worth of Tesla stock 

Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, sold $6.9 billion worth of stocks in the electric vehicle maker saying that the funds could be used to finance a potential Twitter deal if he loses the legal battle.  

“In the (hopefully unlikely) event that Twitter forces this deal to close *and* some equity partners don’t come through, it is important to avoid an emergency sale of Tesla stock,” Musk said on Twitter on Tuesday.  

In early July, Musk said he was pulling out of the $44 billion Twitter buyout deal which led the company to sue the billionaire. The trial will be held on 17 October.  

Musk also said that he was done selling Tesla stock and added that he would buy it again if the Twitter deal does not close.  

Tesla shares were 2.44% lower in yesterday’s market Close but are currently 2.85% higher in pre-market sales, meanwhile Twitter shares were 0.26% lower in yesterday’s market close and are gaining 4.09% in pre-market sales.  

Coinbase revenue declined by almost 64%, shares drop  

Coinbase, the popular American crypto exchange platform, reported its quarterly earnings yesterday and saw a loss of over $1 billion, missing analyst estimates for revenue.  

The company’s revenue declined by around 64% as investors left the crypto market following the fall of the TerraUSD stablecoin and a crypto crash.  

Retail transactions were down by 66% at $616.2 million. The company’s net loss came at about $1.1 billion, compared with the $1.59 billion in net income one year ago.  

“Q2 was a test of durability for crypto companies and a complex quarter overall… Dramatic market movements shifted user behavior and trading volume, which impacted transaction revenue, but also highlighted the strength of our risk management program,” the company said in a statement.  

COIN shares closed 10.55% lower.   

Top cryptocurrencies bearish as BTC falls to $22,0000 levels  

Bitcoin (BTC) fell back to $22,000 levels but is nearing $23,000 territory.  

Ethereum (ETH) was 0.91% higher in the past 24 hours. BNB fell by 0.37%, Cardano (ADA) was up by 0.29% and Solana (SOL) gained 0.64%. 

The popular Elon Musk-endorsed memetoken Dogecoin (DOGE) was 0.38% higher.