The Breakfast Briefing: Global Stocks Follow Wall Street Lower

Ted

FYI: Global stock markets were muted Thursday as investors looked for more confirmation that the global economy was regaining strength.

In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 was down 0.1% in lower volume trading ahead of Easter holidays in many countries. Most Asian stock markets retreated.

Futures pointed to opening losses of 0.1% for the S&P 500 and 0.2% the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

After a spell of weak data, some encouraging signs about the global economy have boosted sentiment among investors in recent weeks. Data on Wednesday showed the Chinese economy grew faster-than-expected in the first quarter, helped by government stimulus. Those measures, along with major central banks’ more dovish stance this year, have helped ease fears of a widespread slowdown in economic activity.

In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.6% while Japan’s Nikkei was down 0.8%.

In commodities, Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was down 0.3%, while gold prices fell 0.2%.
Regards,
Ted

WSJ:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-stocks-follow-wall-street-lower-11555573761

Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-17/asian-stocks-set-for-muted-open-treasuries-steady-markets-wrap

IBD:
https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/dow-jones-futures-chip-stock-market-rally/

CNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/18/stocks-market-earnings-retail-sales-and-jobless-data-in-focus.html

U.K.:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/banks-pharma-drag-ftse-100-but-unilever-cheery-on-strong-quarter-idUKKCN1RU0RE

Europe:
https://www.reuters.com/article/europe-stocks/european-shares-cautious-ahead-of-pmi-data-idUSL5N2201QO

Asia:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-quiet-shrugging-off-geopolitical-news-2019-04-17/print

Bonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/18/treasury-yields-move-lower-ahead-of-jobless-data.html

Currencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/18/forex-market-global-economy-manufacturing-pmi-in-focus.html

Oil:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/18/oil-market-us-crude-inventories-in-focus.html

Gold:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/18/gold-market-global-economy-manufacturing-activity-in-focus.html

Current Futures:
https://finviz.com/futures.ashx