As of Thu, Apr 18, Singapore Time zone UTC+8
USDJPY, +0.03%, $112.04
EURUSD, +0.14%, $1.1296
GBPUSD, -0.08%, $1.3038
USDCAD, -0.01%, $1.3350
AUDUSD, -0.05%, $0.7172
NZDUSD, -0.57%, $0.6725
U.S. Treasuries finished little changed in another tight-ranged session. The 2-yr yield decreased one basis point to 2.40%, and the 10-yr yield was unchanged at 2.59%. The U.S. Dollar Index finished flat at 97.01. WTI crude lost 0.4% to $63.78/bbl.
The latest economic reports suggest that China’s massive stimulus package is working. Consumer spending (8.7% vs expected 8.3%) and manufacturing activity (8.5% vs expected 5.6%) rebounded strongly in the month of March. GDP growth (6.4% vs expected 6.3%) remained steady in the first quarter despite tepid global demand and a US trade war. These reports drove Aussie to a fresh 1 month high and took Kiwi off its lows, but the rallies were unsustainable as it is far too early to declare a bottom in China’s economy.
STOCK MARKET WRAP
S&P500, -0.23%, 2,900.45
Nasdaq, +0.34%, 7,680.72
Nikkei Futures, +0.24%, 22,273.0
The S&P 500 declined 0.23% on Wednesday in a mixed trading session. Pronounced weakness in the S&P 500 health care sector (-2.9%) counteracted positive economic data and earnings reports, thwarting an early attempt from the benchmark index to re-test its all-time high.
Stocks began the day modestly higher following better-than-expected GDP data out of China and earnings beats from many widely-held companies. The overall response, however, was muted likely due to the sense that much of the good news had already been priced in. An afternoon report from the Wall Street Journal indicating that the U.S. and China plan to continue another round of trade talks at the end of the month also produced little reaction.
United Continental (UAL 89.24, +4.07, +4.8%), CSX Corp. (CSX 78.94, +3.05, +4.0%), and KC Southern (KSU 122.81, +4.82, +4.1%) were some of the transport companies that released solid earnings results. PepsiCo (PEP 127.01, +4.60, +3.8%), Netflix (NFLX 354.74, -4.72, -1.3%), and Morgan Stanley (MS 48.26, +1.24, +2.6%) also beat earnings estimates, but Netflix also guided Q2 EPS below consensus. Shares of Qualcomm (QCOM 79.08, +8.63, +12.3%) received follow-through buying interest after the company settled a licensing dispute with Apple (AAPL 203.13, +3.88, +2.0%) yesterday. Intel (INTC 58.56, +1.85, +3.3%) followed up with an announcement that it will drop out of the 5G smartphone modem business.