ASIA:
U.S. authorities are ready to implement a ban on imports from China’s Xinjiang region when a law requiring it becomes enforceable later in June, a U.S. Customs official said on Wednesday, adding that a “very high” level of evidence would be required for an exemption. U.S. President Joe Biden in December signed into law the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) in an effort to safeguard the U.S. market from products potentially tainted by human rights abuses in Xinjiang, where the U.S. government says China is committing genocide against Uyghur Muslims. The law includes a “rebuttable presumption” that all goods from Xinjiang, where Chinese authorities established detention camps for Uyghurs and other Muslim groups, are made with forced labor, and bars their import unless it can be proven otherwise. China denies abuses in Xinjiang, a major cotton producer that also supplies much of the world’s materials for solar panels, and says the law “slanders” the country’s human rights situation.
The major Asian stock markets had a mixed day today:
- NIKKEI 225 increased 178.09 points or 0.65% to 27,457.89
- Shanghai decreased 4.27 points or -0.13% to 3,182.16
- Hang Seng decreased 120.26 points or -0.56% to 21,294.94
- ASX 200 increased 22.80 points or 0.32% to 7,234.00
- Kospi closed
- SENSEX decreased 185.24 points or -0.33% to 55,381.17
- Nifty50 decreased 61.80 points or -0.37% to 16,522.75
The major Asian currency markets had a mixed day today:
- AUDUSD increased 0.00072 or 0.10% to 0.71897
- NZDUSD decreased 0.00255 or -0.39% to 0.64940
- USDJPY increased 1.416 or 1.10% to 130.110
- USDCNY increased 0.01681 or 0.25% to 6.69326
Precious Metals:
- Gold increased 12.33 USD/t oz. or 0.67% to 1,849.42
- Silver increased 0.37 USD/t. oz or 1.72% to 21.905
Some economic news from last night:
China:
Caixin Manufacturing PMI (May) increased from 46.0 to 48.1
Japan:
Manufacturing PMI (May) increased from 53.2 to 53.3
Capital Spending (YoY) (Q1) decreased from 4.3% to 3.0%
South Korea:
Exports (YoY) (May) increased from 12.9% to 21.3%
Imports (YoY) (May) increased from 18.6% to 32.0%
Trade Balance (May) increased from -2.51B to -1.71B
Australia:
AIG Manufacturing Index (May) decreased from 58.5 to 52.4
GDP (YoY) (Q1) decreased from 4.4% to 3.3%
GDP (QoQ) (Q1) decreased from 3.6% to 0.8%
Some economic news from today
Australia:
Commodity Prices (YoY) decreased from 40.3% to 30.4%
Hong Kong:
Retail Sales (YoY) (Apr) increased from -13.8% to 11.7%
India:
Nikkei Markit Manufacturing PMI (May) decreased from 54.7 to 54.6
EUROPE/EMEA:
Activity in the French manufacturing sector slowed further last month, reaching a seven-month low, as steep inflation hit new business while continued supply chain and logistics problems slowed production, a survey showed on Wednesday. S&P Global’s manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 54.6 in May, down from 55.7 in April but slightly above a 54.5% flash estimate. It was the lowest reading since October.
French inflation rose more than expected in May to a new record. The INSEE statistics agency said consumer prices rose 0.7% in May for a 12-month inflation rate of 5.8%, up from 5.4% in April to hit the highest rate since France began using European Union methodology to calculate the readings in the early 1990s.
The major Europe stock markets had a negative day:
- CAC 40 decreased 49.91 points or -0.77% to 6,418.89
- FTSE 100 decreased 74.71 points or -0.98% to 7,532.95
- DAX 30 decreased 47.88 points or -0.33% to 14,340.47
The major Europe currency markets had a mixed day today:
- EURUSD decreased 0.00819 or -0.76% to 1.06526
- GBPUSD decreased 0.01201 or -0.95% to 1.24884
- USDCHF increased 0.00299 or 0.31% to 0.96256
Some economic news from Europe today:
UK:
Nationwide HPI (YoY) (May) decreased from 12.1% to 11.2%
Nationwide HPI (MoM) (May) increased from 0.4% to 0.9%
Manufacturing PMI (May) decreased from 55.8 to 54.6
Germany:
German Manufacturing PMI (May) increased from 54.6 to 54.8
German Retail Sales (YoY) (Apr) increased from -1.7% to -0.4%
German Retail Sales (MoM) (Apr) decreased from 0.9% to -5.4%
Spain:
Spanish Manufacturing PMI (May) increased from 53.3 to 53.8
Swiss:
procure.ch PMI (May) decreased from 62.5 to 60.0
Italy:
Italian Manufacturing PMI (May) decreased from 54.5 to 51.9
Italian Monthly Unemployment Rate (Apr) remain the same at 8.4%
France:
French Manufacturing PMI (May) decreased from 55.7 to 54.6
French Government Budget Balance (Apr) decreased from -38.3B to -67.3B
Euro Zone:
Unemployment Rate (Apr) remain the same at 6.8%
Manufacturing PMI (May) decreased from 55.5 to 54.6
US/AMERICAS:
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon voiced extreme pessimism over the near-term state of US banking. “You’d better brace yourself,” Dimon warned, “JPMorgan is bracing ourselves and we’re going to be very conservative with our balance sheet.” Dimon compared the mix of raising rates, QT, high inflation, supply chain crises, and the war in Europe to an oncoming hurricane. He said that things may seem “kind of sunny” as the Fed believes they can curb inflation. “That hurricane is right out there, down the road, coming our way.”
Available job openings in April fell 455,000 in April to 11.4 million, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this Wednesday. The gap between job openings and available workers remains high at 5.46 million. The job openings rate fell 0.3% to 7%, indicating a tight labor market.
US Market Closings:
- Dow declined 177.02 points or -0.54% to 32,813.1
- S&P 500 declined 30.95 points or -0.75% to 4,101.2
- Nasdaq declined 86.93 points or -0.72% to 11,994.46
- Russell 2000 declined 9.22 points or -0.49% to 1,854.82
Canada Market Closings:
- TSX Composite declined 15.62 points or -0.08% to 20,713.72
- TSX 60 declined -0.95 of a point or -0.08% to 1,253.84
Brazil Market Closing:
- Bovespa advanced 9.43 points or 0.01% to 111,359.94
ENERGY:
The oil markets had a green day today:
- Crude Oil increased 1.05 USD/BBL or 0.92% to 115.720
- Brent increased 1.15 USD/BBL or 0.99% to 116.75
- Natural gas increased 0.632 USD/MMBtu or 7.76% to 8.7770
- Gasoline increased 0.0015 USD/GAL or 0.04% to 4.0819
- Heating oil increased 0.0544 USD/GAL or 1.33% to 4.1453
The above data was collected around 15:14 EST on Wednesday
- Top commodity gainers: Natural Gas (7.76%), Platinum (3.19%), Feeder Cattle (2.92%) and Coffee (3.57%)
- Top commodity losers: Oat (-3.43%), Corn (-3.15%), Wheat (-4.25%) and Lumber (-7.50%)
The above data was collected around 15:18 EST on Wednesday.
BONDS:
Japan 0.240%(-0.1bp), US 2’s 2.67% (+0.105%), US 10’s 2.9368% (+8.73bps); US 30’s 3.09% (+0.034%), Bunds 1.182% (+5.5bp), France 1.6960% (+5.1bp), Italy 3.195% (+7bp), Turkey 21.49% (-7bp), Greece 3.680% (+10.3bp), Portugal 2.340% (+6.3bp); Spain 2.329% (+10.9bp) and UK Gilts 2.1570% (+5.6bp).
