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Overnight the Asian equity market showed a mixed performance. China’s April data revealed conflicting economic trends, with industrial production growth surpassing expectations while retail sales growth unexpectedly slowed. This divergence is unlikely to alleviate pressure on Chinese authorities to implement additional measures to stimulate the domestic economy. Chinese property developer stocks rose on Friday as investors anticipated more government measures to stabilize the crisis-hit sector. New data revealed the fastest decline in new home prices in over nine years. Vice Premier He Lifeng announced that China will allow local government authorities to purchase homes at “reasonable” prices to provide affordable housing during an online meeting on housing policy. In the US, Federal Reserve policymakers cautioned that despite this week’s lower-than-expected inflation report, interest rates might need to remain high for a prolonged period. On the other hand, Bank of England policymaker Greene indicated evidence of a more balanced UK labor market, hinting at potential support for an interest rate cut.Looking ahead, there are no significant releases in the UK today. In the Eurozone, the second reading of the April CPI is not expected to differ from the initial estimate, showing annual inflation at 2.4%, unchanged from March. Although both overall and core inflation rates in the Eurozone have decreased significantly from their peaks, they remain above the European Central Bank’s target. The ECB’s next policy update on June 6 may see interest rate cuts, as suggested by policymaker comments, but caution remains about future actions.Stateside, the only notable release is the April update for the leading index, which predicts future economic trends based on various indicators. It has had little market impact recently, with a similar decline expected for April. This week, the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) showed a decrease, causing market participants to quickly anticipate at least two interest rate cuts this year. However, Federal Reserve officials have indicated that rates may need to remain higher for a longer period, and a report indicating a tight labor market has led to a change in expectations. Currently, markets are fully expecting one rate cut in November, with a 68% chance of a cut in September, bringing us back to where we were before the CPI data in terms of U.S. rate expectations.
Overnight Newswire Updates of Note
(Sourced from Bloomberg, Reuters and other reliable financial news outlets)
FX Options Expiries For 10am New York Cut (1BLN+ represent larger expiries, more magnetic when trading within daily ATR)
CFTC Data As Of 10/05/24
Technical & Trade ViewsSP500 Bullish Above Bearish Below 5280
EURUSD Bullish Above Bearish Below 1.08
GBPUSD Bullish Above Bearish Below 1.2630
USDJPY Bullish Above Bearish Below 152
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BTCUSD Bullish Above Bearish below 64000
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