CNBC Daily Open: Safe havens in vogue

This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.

Weak quarterly kickoff
U.S. markets slid Thursday ahead of a crucial Friday jobs report, as yet another U.S. Federal Reserve official cooled expectations this week for imminent rate cuts. Oil prices climbed, with West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery breaking above $86 per barrel and Brent for June delivery hitting $90.65 per barrel, their respective highest levels since Oct. 20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down Thursday 1.35% at 38,596.98 in its biggest loss since March 2023 and fourth-straight daily loss. The S&P 500 ended down 1.23% at 5,147.21, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished down 1.4% at 16,049.08.

Jobs report preview
Economists expect the U.S. March nonfarm payrolls, due Friday morning, to come in at 200,000, according to the Dow Jones consensus forecast. That would be weaker than February’s initial 275,000, but still indicative of a solid hiring pace. Investors will likely focus on any other information pointing to weakening foundations in the labor market, scouring for clues on whether the U.S. Federal Reserve will hold off cutting rates.

EV realities
Ford Motor is delaying production of a new all-electric large SUV and another pickup truck model codenamed “T3” in its latest rejigging of EV plans. The automotive industry is confronting the reality of a slower rate of EV adoption among consumers even as production costs remain elevated.

Trusting Zuckerberg
Meta shares soared to an intraday record on Thursday, outperforming the broader market after Jefferies and RBC Capital analysts raised their price targets. “Meta has too many advantages to count,” Jefferies analysts wrote in their report, where they predicted Meta could outgrow Amazon’s ad business for the first time since 2015.

[PRO] Pre-earnings upgrades
Analysts have become more bullish on six stocks from around the world this week, raising their price targets ahead of the quarterly earnings release season.

Gold prices scaled new highs this week. Even the beleaguered Japanese yen got a rare reprieve, rallying Thursday from levels against the dollar that many worry may spark government intervention.

Rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have been cited, as oil prices surged to their highest in more than five months.

Israel is reportedly bracing for retaliatory attacks after a presumed Israeli air strike on Iran’s embassy compound in Damascus killed several Iranian generals.

All of this as U.S. stock markets — which have been a standout outperformer in the past 12 months —have corrected this week in a feeble start to the second quarter.

Successive comments from U.S. Federal Reserve officials this week have also tempered hopes of a a first rate cut, which markets are expecting to happen at the Fed’s June meeting.

With the CBOE Market Volatility index touching its highest since late last year, some investors are appearing to hedge their positions in anticipation of more volatility ahead.

The risk off sentiment is unmistakable.