The Dow Jones closed in on a new high to start the week as U.S. companies continued to outperform market expectations this earnings season.
First quarter earnings in 2021 have considerably outperformed business activity from the same period last year, as the end of the pandemic seems to be nearing.
According to data from Q1, earnings have risen 46% from the same period last year, with 87% of reports beating analyst expectations in relation to earnings per share.
Overall, this growth has been led by FAANG companies, which all beat forecasted figures after releasing Q1 data last week.
With earnings season only at the half-way point, some of these stats could change, however the signs remain positive for the U.S. economy.
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London hosts first post-pandemic G-7 meeting
In the United Kingdom, the benchmark FTSE 100 was closed on Monday due to a public holiday, however London remained open, as it hosted G-7 leaders.
Foreign ministers from the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States met in London, with climate change said to be one of the main talking points.
Today’s meeting will lay the way for leaders of these countries to meet next month, in what will be President Joe Biden’s first official state visit to the UK.
Regarding the issues to be discussed, the British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab stated that, “On all of these areas we want to be absolutely firm, and stand shoulder to shoulder not just with Americans, as important as they are, but also with our wider allies – that’s why the G7 is so important“.
Many will look to the FTSE 100 tomorrow to see if any gains could be made from today’s talks.
Ethereum rallies above $3,000
Ethereum rallied to further highs to start the week, breaching a key price point for the first time as a result.
Ether raced past the $3,000 mark in today’s session, and as of writing set a new record high of $3,322 as Bitcoin also rose.
The move in ETHUSD this year has so far outshone that of even Bitcoin, quadrupling its value in 2021 thus far.
Many believe that the Ethereum platform will be a vital part for those who want to enter the decentralized ecosystem, as recently seen with the European Investment Bank launching a digital bond say on the network.
Quote of the day – “The core problem, however, is the need to fit markets into a style of trading rather than finding ways to trade that fit with market behaviour.”
– Brett Steenbarger