Morning Note: Market News
Market News
US Markets: The S&P 500 traded lower on Thursday closing at 5939.30 -31.51 (-0.53%) and the Nasdaq Composite closing at 19298.45 -162.04 (-0.83%). Asia stocks were mixed while US futures rose and European contracts declined ahead of a key jobs report in America.
US/China relations: Donald Trump had a one and a half hour call with Chinese Premier Xi Jinping where the leaders discussed trade between the two countries. In a post on Truth Social, Trump indicated the call had gone well and that negotiations were back on track.
Elon Musk: White House aides scheduled a call with Elon Musk today to avoid an escalation of his feud with Donald Trump, Politico reported. Musk earlier signaled he’s open to cooling tensions after differences between the two exploded yesterday. Tesla tumbled 14% yesterday.
Ukraine: Trump said it might be necessary to let Ukraine and Russia “fight for a little while” before brokering a peace deal. He threatened fresh sanctions on both countries if he determined the conflict wasn’t going to end. Kyiv said Russia launched an attack with missiles and drones.
Corporate: HSBC Chairman Mark Tucker is stepping down on Sept. 30 and rejoining AIA. BlackRock plans to cut about 300 roles, people familiar said, after a similar move at the start of the year. Lululemon sank more than 20% post market after quarterly forecasts missed. It will raise some prices to deal with US tariffs. Broadcom dropped on a lacklustre revenue outlook. Siemens Energy is on course to pay a dividend for the first time in almost four years after replacing an €11 billion rescue package backed by Germany.
Germany’s industrial production may have declined 1% in April. The near-term outlook is bleak, with GDP expected to roughly flatline over the summer, said Bloomberg Economics.
Non-farm Payrolls: Today’s report is poised to show a softening, but not cratering, of the labour market in May, with economists predicting a gain of 126,000 jobs.
Commodities: OPEC+ may add only 225,000 barrels a day in actual output in July, far lower than the planned 411,00 b/d, FGE said. The group may raise production further in August, September and potentially October. An LNG cargo was loaded from a US-sanctioned Russian storage unit, possibly signalling Moscow’s renewed push to supply Asia. Silver rose to a 13-year high and platinum reached levels last seen in 2022, driven by technical momentum and rising demand, especially from India and China.
