SHANGHAI, May 17 —This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.
The dollar index was at 104.57, having briefly crossed the 105 level on Friday, its highest since December 2002, after six successive weeks of gains. Weekly positioning data showed investors built their long dollar bets.
The euro was marginally higher at $1.0422, but not far from a low of $1.0354 it hit on Thursday, its lowest since early 2017. Analysts see $1.0340 as a crucial level of support for the euro.
HSBC strategists expect the euro to fall to parity against the dollar in the coming year. “Much weaker growth and much higher inflation leave the ECB facing one of the toughest policy challenges in G10 (central banks),” they said.
U.S. stock index futures were flat during overnight trading on Monday, following a volatile session that saw the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite continue their march lower.
Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were flat. S&P 500 futures were slightly higher, while Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.13%.
During regular trading the S&P dipped 0.39%. In a volatile session the benchmark index at one point gained 0.56%, while shedding about 1% at the session low.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average saw a similar swing, although the 30-stock index eked out a 0.8% gain at the closing bell, pushed higher by Chevron and UnitedHealth.
The Nasdaq Composite, meantime, was the session’s underperformer as the carnage in tech stocks continued. The tech-heavy index finished the day 1.2% lower, and is now 28% below its intraday all-time high from Nov. 22.
Oil prices rose on Monday on optimism that China would see significant demand recovery after positive signs that coronavirus pandemic was receding in the hardest-hit areas.
Brent crude advanced 2.4% to $114.24, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled 3.4% higher at $114.20 per barrel.
Shanghai aims to reopen broadly and allow normal life to resume for the city’s 25 million people from June 1, a city official said on Monday, after declaring that 15 of its 16 districts had eliminated cases outside quarantine areas.
Gold rose slightly on Monday as a retreat in U.S. Treasury yields offset headwinds from a relatively firm dollar, which, along with looming interest rate hikes, earlier pushed bullion to a more than three-and-a-half-month low.
Spot gold rose 0.3% to $1,817.12 per ounce by 1:52 p.m. ET (1752 GMT), after earlier hitting its lowest since Jan. 31 at $1,786.60. U.S. gold futures settled up 0.3% at $1,814.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed fractionally above the flatline, having clawed back losses of up to 0.8% earlier in the day. Basic resources jumped 1.6% to lead gains while tech stocks dropped 1.4%.
The uncertain trade on Monday came after a tumultuous week for global markets, although European stocks advanced on Friday in an attempt to regain some ground, with investors assessing the outlook for inflation and interest rates.
