As of Fri, May 3, Singapore Time zone UTC+8
Dollar Index, +0.20%, $97.83
USDJPY, +0.09%, $111.50
EURUSD, -0.19%, $1.1174
GBPUSD, -0.17%, $1.3032
USDCAD, +0.20%, $1.3470
AUDUSD, -0.33%, $0.6992
NZDUSD, -0.14%, $0.6614
U.S. Initial claims for the week ending April 27 were unchanged from the prior week at 230,000 (consensus 220,000). Continuing claims for the week ending April 20 increased by 17,000 to 1.671 million. Initial claims might have been higher than expected, yet remains relatively low, evidenced by a four-week moving average of 212,500 that isn’t far off a 50-year low. Factory orders increased 1.9% in March (consensus +1.0%). Business investment picked up in March, evidenced by the 1.4% increase in orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft, which are a proxy for business spending.
U.S. Treasuries continued their post-FOMC retreat, sending yields higher across the curve. The 2-yr yield and the 10-yr yield increased four basis points each to 2.34% and 2.55%, respectively. The U.S. Dollar Index increased 0.15% to 97.83.
The BoE voted unanimously to keep interest rates steady at 0.75 percent but stuck to their view tighter policy would be needed in future. The central bank now sees inflation ending the year at 1.6%, well below their 2% target. They also lowered their inflation forecasts for 2020. While they upgraded their GDP forecasts (to 1.5% from 1.2%) and expressed confidence that inflation and demand will rise strongly in 2 or 3 years time, the lack of price pressures now will keep the BoE on hold for the foreseeable future.
S&P500, -0.21%, 2,917.52
Nasdaq, -0.36%, 7,724.06
Nikkei Futures, +0.42%, 22,283.0
S&P 500 declined 0.21% on Thursday, although it had been down as much as 0.8% in the session. Energy stocks weighed on the broader market for the second straight day, as oil prices ($61.77/bbl, -$1.82, -2.9%) fell to a one-month low. The S&P 500 energy sector (-1.7%) was the day’s worst-performing group amid a drop in the price of oil. Prices were pressured by rising U.S. inventory and by reports that Asian refiners asked Saudi Arabia for additional supply amid global disruptions.
Conversely, the broader market found support from the S&P 500 health care (+0.5%), financials (+0.2%), and real estate (+0.2%) sectors. Many stocks within the Dow Jones Transportation Average (+1.2%) and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (+1.1%) provided additional support.
In corporate news, Dow Inc (DOW 72.50, -3.43, -6.1%), Square (SQ 67.74, -5.88, -8.0%), Kellogg (K 57.38, -2.01, -3.4%), and Cigna (CI 158.22, -3.78, -2.3%) were some of the more notable companies that fell after disappointing investors with their earnings results/guidance. Tesla (TSLA 244.10, +10.09) rose 4.3% after the company announced plans to raise $2.0 billion through new equity and convertible notes.