As of Thu, May 16, Singapore Time zone UTC+8
Dollar Index +0.01%, 97.54
USDJPY, -0.20%, $109.46
EURUSD, +0.02%, $1.1208
GBPUSD, -0.47%, $1.2846
USDCAD, -0.14%, $1.3442
AUDUSD, -0.16%, $0.6927
NZDUSD, -0.14%, $0.6562
There were renewed growth concerns early in the day as U.S. and China released weaker-than-expected economic prints. U.S. Retail Sales declined 0.2% (consensus +0.2%). Consumers curtailed discretionary spending on goods in April, this might affect the outlook for Q2 GDP growth. U.S. Industrial production declined 0.5% in April (consensus 0.0%). This marks the fourth straight month in which there was no growth in manufacturing output. Chinese Growth in Industrial Production slowed to 5.4%, lower than the 6.5% increase that had been forecast and level with November’s figure, which was the weakest rate since the global financial crisis a decade ago.
The 2-yr yield and the 10-yr yield declined four basis points each to 2.16% and 2.38%, respectively. The U.S. Dollar Index increased 0.01% to 97.54. WTI crude increased 0.4% to $62.06/bbl.
Markets got bid after reports indicated that Trump is expected to delay a decision on auto tariffs by up to six months. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also said that the U.S. is close to resolving a dispute with Canada and Mexico pertaining to tariffs on aluminium and steel. The official announcement hasn’t been made yet, (he has until Saturday) but investors expectations that he won’t be taking on China and Europe at the same time provided some respite.
S&P500, +0.58%, 2,850.96
Nasdaq, +1.37%, 7,503.25
Nikkei Futures, +0.56%, 21,148.0
S&P 500 advanced 0.58% on Wednesday, overcoming a lower start that was attributed to concerns about slowing growth. The S&P 500 communication services (+2.1%), information technology (+1.0%), consumer staples (+0.8%), and consumer discretionary (+0.8%) sectors outperformed the broader market. The financials (-0.5%), materials (-0.2%), and utilities (-0.1%) sectors were the lone groups to finish lower.
Shares of Ford Motor (F 10.36, +0.12, +1.2%) and General Motors (GM 37.37, +0.33, +0.9%) reacted positively to the possible delay in auto tariffs. Semiconductor stocks also outperformed, evident by the 0.8% gain in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, although the group had been up as much as 1.5% intraday.