As of Fri, Apr 5, Singapore Time zone UTC +8
Dollar Index +0.22%, $97.30
USDJPY, +0.16%, $111.66
EURUSD, -0.08%, $1.1226
GBPUSD, -0.66%, $1.3074
USDCAD, +0.13%, $1.3363
AUDUSD, -0.06%, $0.7109
NZDUSD, -0.32%, $0.6756
U.S. Treasuries finished mixed ahead of Friday’s release of the Employment Situation report for March. The 2-yr yield increased one basis point to 2.33%, and the 10-yr yield decreased one basis point to 2.51%. The U.S. Dollar Index increased 0.22% to 97.26. WTI crude lost 0.3% to $62.24/bbl.
In trade, Trump said any trade deal with China is probably still weeks away though both sides are making progress on an accord that could be “very monumental.” There was also some speculation that Trump could soon announce a summit with President Xi, as negotiations have entered the late stages. “We have a ways to go,” Trump told reporters at a meeting Thursday with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He at the White House. “We are rounding the turn.”
In Brexit, Angela Merkel and Leo Varadkar, the Irish prime minister, have both stressed that Theresa May will need to be able to explain to EU leaders next week why they should agree to extend article 50 again. Merkel cited, “We do hope that the intensive discussions that are ongoing in London will lead to a situation by next Wednesday, when we have a special council meeting, where Prime Minister Theresa May will have something to table to us on the basis of which we can continue to talk.”
They spoke after talks in London between Labour and the government on a possible Brexit compromise broke up, with both sides being relatively non-committal about progress.
S&P500, +0.21%, 2,879.39
Nasdaq, -0.06%, 7,540.57
Nikkei Futures, +0.09%, 21,740.0
The S&P 500 increased 0.21% on Thursday, wavering between small gains and losses as high-level trade talks continued in Washington. The benchmark index advanced for the sixth straight session, eking out a new closing high for the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6%, boosted by shares of Boeing (BA 395.86, +11.12, +2.9%) on reports of a successful test of the software fix for the 737 MAX plane, which could be implemented in the coming weeks.
The S&P 500 materials (+1.0%), energy (+0.9%), and consumer discretionary (+0.7%) sectors led the broader market higher. Conversely, the information technology (-0.4%), utilities (-0.4%), and real estate (-0.3%) sectors underperformed.
Tesla (TSLA 267.78, -24.03, -8.2%), meanwhile, disappointed investors after it reported a 31% decline in Q1 deliveries and said the results will negatively affect the company’s Q1 net income. On a related note, a U.S. judge ordered the SEC and CEO Elon Musk to meet and settle their dispute over the next two weeks. The SEC had sought to hold Musk in contempt regarding an unchecked tweet pertaining to Tesla’s operations.
In other corporate news, Facebook (FB 176.02, +2.48, +1.4%) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Guggenheim with a price target of $200; Micron (MU 42.89, -1.01, -2.3%) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley with a price target of $32.