Stocks Trade Lower ahead of U.S. Jobs Data and Amid Poor Overseas Data
May 6, 2016
Equities dropped 2.8% in China, 1.7% in Hong Kong, 0.5% in South Korea and 0.3% in Japan, which reopened for the first time since Monday.
In Europe, share prices are down 1.3% in Italy, 0.8% in the U.K., 1.0% in France, 0.6% in Germany, 0.5% in Spain and 0.4% in Switzerland.
The dollar advanced 1.3% against the Australian dollar. The Reserve Bank of Australia’s quarterly statement on monetary policy revised down the core inflation forecast to 1-2% and indicated a predisposition to cut interest rates further. The dollar also rose 0.7% relative to the kiwi.
The dollar is unchanged against the loonie and Swissie, down 0.1% against sterling, the euro, and the yuan and 0.2% weaker against the yen in today’s risk averse session.
WTI oil fell 0.7% to $44.03 per barrel. Comex gold firmed 0.8% to $1,282.60 per ounce.
10-year British gilt and German bund yields are down 3 and 1 basis points.
China’s $48.1 billion current account surplus last quarter was down from $91.9 billion in the final quarter of 2015. It is the smallest surplus in eight quarters and equal to less than 2% of GDP versus an average surplus last year of 2.7% of GDP.
Euroland’s retail purchasing managers index sank 1.3 points to a 14-month low of 47.9 in April. The German, French and Italian retail PMIs were at a 3-month low, a 3-month high and a 14-month low, respectively. Italy’s index, 42.6, particularly conveys extreme contraction.
Australia’s construction PMI improved to a 6-month high of 50.8 in April from a 13-month low of 45.2 in March.
Germany’s construction PMI weakened 2.4 points to a 5-month low of 53.4 in April.
The Japanese services PMI sank 0.7 points to a 13-month low of 49.3. The Japanese composite PMI also fell to a 13-month low of 48.9.
Russia’s services PMI reading, 54.2, was at a 25-month high, while its composite index rose 0.5 points to 51.3, an 11-month high.
Lebanon’s private PMI posted a record low reading of 44.1 last month. This data series is three years old.
British new car sales were 4.4% greater than a year earlier in April.
U.S. and Canadian monthly labor statistics get reported today. The ADP estimate of U.S. private sector jobs growth released two days ago produced a smaller-than-forecast advance.
Copyright 2016, Larry Greenberg. All rights reserved. No secondary distribution without express permission.
Tags: Chinese current account, eurozone retail PMI, U.S. jobs report
ShareThis
