Currency Market Wrap
As of Sat, May 25, Singapore Time zone UTC+8
Dollar Index -0.26%, 97.61
USDJPY, -0.22, $109.31
EURUSD, +0.17%, $1.1204
GBPUSD, +0.38%, $1.2713
USDCAD, -0.27%, $1.3438
AUDUSD, +0.36%, $0.6924
NZDUSD, +0.49%, $0.6553
U.S. Treasuries finished lower, retreating modestly from a two-day advance. The 2-yr yield increased five basis points to 2.16%, and the 10-yr yield increased three basis points to 2.32%. The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.3% to 97.58. WTI crude rebounded 1.4% to $58.62/bbl.
In UK Politics, Theresa May has announced her departure from 10 Downing Street. In a speech on Friday following a meeting with Sir Graham Brady, the chair of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, the prime minister said she would stand aside on Friday 7 June, with the process to select a new Conservative party leader starting this week. In an emotional statement, she said she had done her best to deliver Brexit and it was a matter of “deep regret” that she had been unable to do so. The Conservative party chairman, Brandon Lewis, confirmed that nominations to replace May would close in the week beginning 10 June. Then successive rounds of voting by Tory MPs will take place to decide which candidates will be put a vote of the party’s members. That process should be completed by the end of June.
Stock Market Wrap
S&P500, +0.14%, 2,826.06
Nasdaq, -0.10%, 7,300.96
Nikkei Futures, +0.44%, 21,100.0
S&P 500 increased 0.14% on Friday in a lower-volume trading session in front of the holiday weekend. Supporting Friday’s positive bias was Trump saying there is still a good possibility of a trade deal with China and that a solution to the Huawei matter could be included in that deal. The benchmark index finished the week lower by 1.2%. The S&P 500 financials (+0.8%) and materials (+0.5%) sectors outperformed. The consumer staples (-0.4%) and utilities (-0.2%) sectors were the lone groups in the red.
Shares of Foot Locker (FL 44.40, -8.43) dropped 16.0% after the company provided disappointing earnings results and guidance, while shares of Intuit (INTU 257.48, +16.17) climbed 6.7% after it provided upbeat results and guidance. In M&A news, Total System (TSS 113.45, +13.83, +13.9%), according to CNBC, said it is nearing a deal to be acquired by Global Payments (GPN 153.44, +5.48, +3.7%) for $20 billion in an all-stock transaction.