Macro Roundup (May 26)

SHANGHAI, May 26 - This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.

The dollar rose for a fourth straight session on Thursday against a basket of major peers to hit a fresh two-month high, as U.S. economic data signaled resilience even after the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hike cycle.
Weekly initial jobless claims rose by 4,000 last week to 229,000, below the Reuters estimate of 225,000 while data from the prior week was revised sharply lower, indicating the labor market remains strong. In addition, the second estimate of first-quarter Gross Domestic Product growth confirmed the economy slowed but the 1.3% increase was revised up from the initial 1.1% reading.
In contrast the German economy, Europe’s largest, was in recession in the first quarter as GDP fell 0.3%, sending the euro lower. The dollar hit a two-month peak, lifted also by safe-haven demand as worries mounted about a U.S. default.

S&P 500 futures ticked lower Thursday night as investors awaited signs of progress on debt ceiling negotiations and a batch of economic data that can provide insight into the path of inflation.
Futures connected to the broad index slipped 0.1%, while Nasdaq-100 futures were slightly below flat. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 48 points, or 0.1%.

Oil prices fell on Thursday after Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak played down the prospect of further OPEC+ production cuts at its meeting next week.
Brent crude futures was down 3.6%, to $75.55 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) fell 3.95%, to $71.41.

Gold slid to its lowest in two months on Thursday as optimism around the U.S. debt ceiling talks lowered safe-haven demand for bullion and robust economic data fueled bets of another rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
Spot gold was 0.6% down at $1,944.45 per ounce, having hit its lowest since March 22. U.S. gold futures eased nearly 1% to $1,946.10.

European markets ended lower Thursday as negative sentiment on the back of ongoing U.S. debt ceiling negotiations continued to weigh.
After a choppy day, the benchmark Stoxx 600 finished around 0.24% lower. Tech stocks bucked the trend to end 1.8% higher following Nvidia’s blockbuster results, which gave related stocks a boost. Dutch chip machine maker ASML ended the day almost 5% higher.

Other sectors slipped, however, while oil and gas stocks fell around 2%.