Results since the beginning of the week, including LVMH and U.S. banks, are particularly strong. The numerous IPOs are also adding to investors' appetite.

Coinbase's IPO was, as expected, a success. The American company ticked just about every box of the moment, as it is both a technology stock and a way to gain exposure to cryptocurrencies. Add to that its status as a sector leader and the FOMO (fear of missing out) effect, and we get +31% at the close, for a capitalization of $86 billion. Coinbase already weighs more than any other traditional stock exchange operator: the Intercontinental Exchange ($67 billion) or the London Stock Exchange ($58 billion). It has to be said that this is a very good way for investors to gain exposure to bitcoin and its peers without dealing with them directly.

Cryptocurrencies are already considered by some as a diversification tool. Other diversification tools that are still going strong are ETFs. A hundred of these index funds were launched in the first quarter of 2021 alone, a record. Bloomberg points out that this is about double what was seen in 2020 (54) and 2019 (45) over the same period. Not all will survive, but issuers are vying for products and strategies to capture the savings of households baited by equity market performance. To make the link between ETFs and bitcoin, the first contrarian ETF on cryptocurrencies, which bets on a plunge in the sector, will soon be launched.

The month of May is looming, and we should remember the old saying that you should sell your positions at the end of April and only reinvest starting in early November. There are plenty of studies on the subject, but none that contradict the best advice to give to any investor: always stay invested, with a long view. First Trust published a chart earlier this week that measures the performance of the S&P500 over the May/October period since 2003. The average gain over this period was 4.23%. They were even 13.3% in 2020 and 9.1% in 2017. In fact, over the last 18 years, the annals of "sell in may and go away" only count two negative series, in 2011 and 2008.

Today's session will be driven by another round of Q1 results, with Unitedhealth, Bank of America, Citigroup and BlackRock, as well as multinational consumer goods companies, in particular L'Oréal and PepsiCo. On the macroeconomic side, markets are waiting for the Chinese GDP for the first quarter and a battery of indicators in the United States this afternoon. Yesterday, Fed head Jerome Powell recalled that the central bank will reduce its asset purchases before raising rates.

 

Today's economic highlights

Many indicators today with inflation figures in Germany and France, as well as U.S. retail sales, new weekly jobless claims, the Empire Manufacturing index and the Philly Fed index, industrial production and business inventories and the NAHB real estate index.

The dollar is stabilizing around EUR 0.8358. Gold is still stuck in the USD 1740 area. Oil is firm at USD 63.0 for WTI and USD 66.5 for Brent. The 10-year T-Bond is offering a yield of 1.63%. Bitcoin is trading at USD 62,585.

 

On markets:

*Bank of America reported a quarterly profit more than doubled in the first three months of the year thanks to provision reversals and announced a $25 billion (€20.9 billion) share buyback plan. The stock gained 1.9% in pre-opening trading.

* BlackRock reported Thursday a quarterly profit of $1.2 billion, beating expectations, as increased market activity pushed its assets under management to a record $9 trillion (€7.5 trillion).

* Citigroup reported better-than-expected quarterly results as the economic recovery and the impact of fiscal stimulus measures allowed it to reduce provisions. The group also announced its intention to exit the retail banking market in 13 Asian countries and the Europe-Middle East-Africa division.

* Thermo Fischer Scientific announced Thursday that it has completed the acquisition of outsourcing research specialist PPD for about $17.4 billion based on a price of $47.50 per share, 10.6 percent higher than Wednesday's closing price. In pre-market trading, PPD gained 6.9%.

* United Health raised its full-year adjusted earnings guidance on Thursday after a nearly 44% jump in first-quarter profit. The stock is up 2% in pre-market trading.

* Pepsico said Thursday it expects organic revenue growth to accelerate in the second quarter, betting on higher restaurant soda sales as business picks up. The food group posted better-than-expected net sales in the first quarter.

* Merck is down 0.7% in pre-market trading after announcing the discontinuation of development of an experimental COVID-19 treatment for hospitalized patients. However, the pharmaceutical company plans to launch a study on the use of this molecule in patients at risk of developing a severe form of the disease.

* Taiwanese semiconductor giant TSMC reported a 19% increase in first-quarter profit and raised its 2021 growth forecast, saying it expects the chip shortage to persist through 2022.

* Coinbase, the world's leading cryptocurrency trading platform was gaining 9% in pre-market trading Thursday on the heels of its first Nasdaq trading session, during which its valuation briefly surpassed $100 billion.