INTERNATIONAL MARKETS Index Last Change Stock Futures Little
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DAILY MARKET REPORT 01.06.2020 INTERNATIONAL MARKETS Index Last Change DJIA 25,383.11 17.53 S&P 500 3,044.31 14.58 NASDAQ 9489.872 120.88 NIKKEI 22,057.63 179.74 HANG SENG 23,772.86 811.39 DJ EURSTOXX 50 3,050.20 44.27 FTSE 100 6,076.60 142.19 CAC 40 4,695.44 75.95 DAXX 11,586.85 194.28 US Stock futures little changed, with Wall Street set to hold on to May’s strong gains U.S. stock futures hovered around the flatline on Sunday night as Wall Street prepared to kick off June trading after consecutive monthly gains. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures traded 29 points lower, with an implied Monday opening loss of 5 points. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures also pointed to a little changed open for the two indexes. The moves in futures had earlier followed positive momentum in Monday trade for Asia, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index surging more than 3% in the morning. That came as data showed China’s manufacturing activity in expanding in May. Investors have been monitoring China’s economic data for signs of recovery in the country, where the coronavirus was first reported. Looking ahead, here’s what traders were monitoring heading into the new month: States continue to reopen their economies after the coronavirus pandemic forced the country to shutter nonessential businesses. The reopening is now taking place amid widespread protests across the U.S. over police brutality. Traders are also grappling with rising tensions between China and the U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday the U.S. would end its special treatment towards Hong Kong. The announcement came after China had approved a national security bill that would increase the mainland’s power over the city. However, Wall Street breathed a sigh of relief as Trump did not say he would pull the U.S. out of the phase one trade deal reached earlier this year. Disappointing trial results from Pfizer for a breast cancer drug dampened market sentiment. The company made the announcement Friday evening, sending its stock down more than 6% in after-hours trading. “Nothing that has happened since the market closed on Friday has been market positive,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities. “When you think about clearly we’re beginning to take U.S.-China tensions seriously and you add on to that the massive amount of disruption going on in almost every major city in the country right now, none of that could be seen as market positive.” “At the levels we’re at, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the market take a pause and pull back,” Hogan added. The S&P 500 and Dow each gained at least 3% last week while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.8% to close out May. Those gains were propelled by increasing bets by traders that the global economy will successfully reopen after the coronavirus forces a shutdown of most economic activity. Last week’s gains led the major averages to their first back-to-back monthly advances since late 2019. The Dow and S&P 500 gained 4.3% and 4.5%, respectively, for May while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 6.8%. That advance also put the S&P 500 up 38% from its intraday low set on March 23. “The main downside risk facing stocks is a second wave of the disease,” said Peter Berezin, chief global strategist at BCA Research, in a note to clients. “If fears of a new outbreak were to escalate, risk assets would suffer.” Berezin added, however, he recommends a “modest overweight” portfolio allocation to stocks, noting: “Even if a vaccine does not become available later this year, increased testing should allow for a more economically palatable approach to containment strategies.” More than 6 million coronavirus cases have been confirmed globally, including over 1.7 million in the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins University. However, Novavax said last week is started Phase 1 clinical trials for its coronavirus vaccine candidate while Moderna said May 18 its early stage vaccine trial had yielded positive results. EUROPE & UK European markets head for lower open as U.S. protests shake confidence London’s FTSE is seen opening 55 points lower at 6,174, France’s CAC 40 is expected to open 148 points lower at 11,660 and Italy’s FTSE MIB is seen 97 points lower at 18,181, according to IG. MarkEts are closed in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland for a public holiday. Investors around the world will be focused on widespread civil unrest unfolding in the U.S. European stocks are expected to open lower Monday as protests continue across the U.S. following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, at the hands of the Minneapolis police last week. London’s FTSE is seen opening 55 points lower at 6,174, France’s CAC 40 is expected to open 148 points lower at 11,660 and Italy’s FTSE MIB is seen 97 points lower at 18,181, according to IG. Markets are closed in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland for a public holiday. Investors around the world will be focused on widespread civil unrest unfolding in the U.S.; hundreds of people were arrested over the weekend as protesters and police clashed in cities across America after the killing of George Floyd sparked more than 100 protests, rallies and vigils, according to NBC News. Derek Chauvin, the officer filmed kneeling on Floyd’s neck, was arrested and charged with murder and manslaughter. The arrest and charges failed to quell public anger over the death, however, and protests, some violent, have continued. Mayors of major cities from Los Angeles to Philadelphia to Atlanta imposed curfews and at least 12 states, as well as Washington, D.C., activated National Guard troops. At the same time, the coronavirus pandemic remains in the spotlight. The number of coronavirus cases globally has now topped more than 6.1 million and the death toll stands at 372,037, a tally from Johns Hopkins University shows. Stocks in Asia Pacific were higher in Monday morning trade as Chinese data release over the weekend showed the country’s factory activity expanding in May, with the official manufacturing Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) coming in at 50.6. That was a decline from the 50.8 print in April and below the 51.0 level expected by analysts, according to Reuters. Still, the figure for May was above the 50 level, which separates expansion from contraction in PMI readings. There are no major earnings Monday. Spanish new car registrations data for May is due, as well as final manufacturing PMI data for several European countries. ASIA Hong Kong surges more than 3%; China’s Shenzhen stocks up 3% as China’s May factory activity expands Shares in Asia Pacific were higher on Monday, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index surging more than 3% in morning trade. Investor focus on Monday was likely also on Chinese economic data for a better gauge of the state of the country’s economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Stocks in Asia Pacific were higher in Monday afternoon trade as a Chinese data release over the weekend showed the country’s factory activity expanding in May. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index led gains among the region’s major indexes, surging 3.22% by the afternoon, with shares of life insurer AIA soaring 5.57%. U.S. President Donald Trump announced Friday he would be taking action to eliminate special treatment for Hong Kong, following China’s approval of a controversial national security bill for the city. “Admittedly, Trump’s presser on action against China for implementing the Hong Kong Security Bill, which the White House has alleged strips Hong Kong of any autonomy, proved to be more bark than bite,” Vishnu Varathan, head of economics and strategy at Mizuho Bank, wrote in a note. “With specific and verifiable measures against China appearing to be weak, markets may draw hollow consolation that the US is treading carefully; especially given risks of unintended economic consequences of far more damage being caused to Hong Kong and non-negligible harm to US economic interests,” Varathan said. Mainland Chinese stocks also saw robust gains, with the Shanghai composite up around 2% while the Shenzhen component surged 3.05%. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 added 0.93% in afternoon trade as shares of index heavyweight and conglomerate Softbank Group jumped 3.7%. The Topix index also traded 0.34% higher. South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.34%. Reuters reported Monday that the country’s exports in May fell 23.7% year-on-year. That was worse than expectations in a Reuters poll of a median drop of 22.1% year-on-year. Meanwhile, shares in Australia edged higher, with the S&P/ASX 200 up 0.64%. Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index jumped 2.13%. Investor focus on Monday was likely on Chinese economic data for a better gauge of the state of the country’s economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Data released over the weekend by China’s National Bureau of Statistics showed factory activity in the country expanding in May, with the official manufacturing Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) coming in at 50.6. That was a decline from the 50.8 print in April and below the 51.0 level expected by analysts, according to Reuters. Still, the figure for May was above the 50 level, which separates expansion from contraction in PMI readings.