CURRENCY MARKET WRAP
As of Sat, Apr 27, Singapore Time zone UTC+8
Dollar Index, -0.19%, $98.01
USDJPY, -0.04%, $111.59
EURUSD, +0.15%, $1.1149
GBPUSD, +0.16%, $1.2919
USDCAD, -0.22%, $1.3455
AUDUSD, +0.36%, $0.7040
NZDUSD, +0.54%, $0.6662
The 2-yr yield declined four basis points to 2.27%, and the 10-yr yield declined three basis points to 2.51%. The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.19% to 98.01. Signs that the U.S. economy is exhibiting solid growth and muted inflation pressures was another positive consideration for equities and U.S. Treasuries alike. The advance estimate for first quarter GDP increased 3.2% (consensus 2.2%), while the GDP Price Deflator was up just 0.9% (consensus 1.4%) after increasing 1.7% in the fourth quarter. This coming Thursday’s FOMC meeting is one of the most important event risks next week. Everyone is wondering whether the Fed will recognize the improvements in data as a sign that the prior slowdown is temporary or overlooked them in favor of low inflation and sluggish global growth.
STOCK MARKET WRAP
S&P500, +0.47%, 2,939.88
Nasdaq, +0.12%, 7,826.68
Nikkei Futures, -0.45%, 22,250.0
The S&P 500 (+0.47%) and Nasdaq Composite (+0.3%) set new closing highs on Friday, as shares of Amazon (AMZN 1950.63, +48.38, +2.5%) and strong Q1 GDP data helped the market steer past early weakness. The underperformance in the energy and semiconductor stocks, however, put a lid on further gains.
Amazon easily topped earnings expectations and announced that one-day shipping will be the new standard for Amazon Prime members. EPS: $7.09 vs. $4.72 expected. Revenue: $59.7 billion vs. $59.7 billion expected. AWS: $7.7 billion vs. $7.7 billion, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet. The results underpinned the stock’s outperformance, while the shipping news undercut shares of Wal-Mart (WMT 101.53, -1.99, -1.9%) and Target (TGT 77.12, -4.62, -5.7%).
Intel (INTC 52.43, -5.18), meanwhile, dropped 9.0% after issuing disappointing guidance. Its lower guidance also contributed to the declines in the S&P 500 information technology sector (-0.4%) and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (-0.8%). The S&P 500 energy sector (-1.2%) underperformed following a decline in oil ($63.23/bbl, -$1.94, -3.0%), which was pressured by Trump telling OPEC to tame fuel costs. Underwhelming earnings reports from Exxon Mobil (XOM 80.49, -1.73, -2.1%) and Chevron (CVX 117.10, -0.80, -0.7%) also weighed on the space.