Daily Digest: Friday 3rd May
USA
As it was the first Friday of May, US Nonfarm payroll and unemployment data released. Figures indicated that the US economy added 175k jobs during April against analyst expectations of 238k, while total unemployment came in 0.1 percentage points higher than expectations at 3.9%. Employment data was well received by traders as the three main equity indexes extended gains covering midweek losses. Slower than expected job market growth is a positive signal in terms of stemming inflation, acting as indicator of a slowing economy.
The Nasdaq 100 ($NDX) led session gains rising 349.26 points (1.99%) to 17,890.80, followed by the S&P 500 ($SPX) which rose 63.59 points (1.26%) to 5,127.79, and the Dow ($INDU) which rose 450.02 points (1.18%) to 38,675.68.
Europe
The UK’s FTSE 100 (FTSE) continued higher for a second consecutive session, rising 41.34 points (0.51%) to 8,213.49. Five of the index’s top ten performers were property and construction focussed with sector gains led by Berkeley Group (BKG.L) whose shares rose 4.96%, followed by Persimmon (PSN.L) whose shares rose 4.67% and Taylor Wimpey (TW.L) whose shares rose 4.11% respectively. In total 86 index constituents closed higher, while 13 moved lower.
Central European equity performances took a turn to the upside, with the STOXX 600, DAX and CAC all ending losing streaks. The STOXX 600 (€SXXP) rose 2.32 points (0.46%) to 505.53, while the CAC (€FCHI) rose 42.92 points (0.54%) to 7,957.57, and the DAX (€GDAXI) rose 105.10 points (0.59%) to 18,001.60.
Rest of the World
Japanese equity traders observed their second bank holiday of the week meaning the Nikkei 225 (¥N225), Japan’s benchmark index will trade into Monday at Thursday’s closing price of 38,236.07. As FX markets are not bound by any specific jurisdictions trading continued through the holiday, with the JPY remaining at the forefront of trader attention following a second potential Japanese MOF intervention on Thursday. This seemed to be a more convincing move to the upside with the USDJPY trading as low as 151.8 as of 13:00 GMT. This move was also supported by a weakening of the USD after further rate hikes were effectively ruled out by the market, lowering currency demand for the purchase of USD denominated bonds.
Indian equities failed to maintain positive momentum experienced on Thursday as the Nifty 50 (₹NSEI) moved 172.35 points (0.76%) lower to 22,475.85.
Commodities
WTI crude prices continued to trade to the downside as prices fell 1.17% to $78.03 per barrel. Potential causes for a change in sentiment include lower industrial demand, as indicated by manufacturing PMI data prints for April, alongside an easing of geopolitical tensions across key regions of crude supply.
Gold prices edged lower through Friday, falling 0.05% to $2,308.50 per ounce.
Sources:
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/world-indices/
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/commodities
https://www.londonstockexchange.com/indices/ftse-100
https://www.binance.com/en-GB/price/bitcoin
https://www.binance.com/en-GB/price/ethereum
https://qontigo.com/index/sxxp/
Stock Market Activity Today & Latest Stock Market Trends | Nasdaq
https://coinmarketcap.com/charts/#market-cap
https://www.forexfactory.com
Definitions:
YoY - Year on Year, or, Year over Year
MoM - Month on Month, or, Month over Month
QoQ - Quarter on Quarter, or, Quarter over Quarter
ECB - European Central Bank
BOJ - Bank of Japan
Fed - Federal Reserve
BOE - Bank of England
SNB - Swiss National Bank
DOJ - Department of Justice