Nasdaq 100 futures trade higher for the fourth consecutive day, pointing to a positive start in the cash market as better China exports boost confidence that the recovery in the global economy will come sooner than expected. The partial reopening of businesses in several states also supports stocks.
Weak economic data continues, the U.S. Initial Jobless Claims came in at 3169K, above the forecasts of 3000K on May 1, the previous reading was at 3.839K. The Unit Labor Costs came in at 4.8% topping the expectations of 4% in the first quarter. The Nonfarm Productivity came in at -2.5% topping the forecasts of -5.5%.
Yesterday, the ADP employment change came down to -20.263M for April below the expectations of -21.00M. According to the report, large businesses with 500 employees or more cut 8.9 million jobs. Service sector slashed 16 million jobs in April, hotels and restaurants lost 8.6 million, while retail and transportation lost 3.4 million positions.
Stocks to Watch
Japan health ministry approved earlier today Gilead Sciences remdesivir drug as a treatment for COVID-19. Remdesivir was also approved the previous week by the FDA. The FDA also approved Moderna’s (MRNA) COVID-19 vaccine candidate for phase 2 study.
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Bank of England Keeps Rates Unchanged, Stocks Higher
Bank of England kept the interest rates unchanged at 0.10% but mostly surprised markets keeping also the QE unchanged. Two MPC members Jonathan Haskell and Michael Saunders voted to increase the QE package by 100 billion beyond the £645bn of asset purchases for the economy. In London, The FTSE 100 is higher on reopening optimism.
USDNOK trades lower after Norges Bank surprised markets by cutting its interest rates to zero from 0.25%.
In forex markets, the Turkish lira tumbles to record lows, while USDMXN plunges as crude oil price and inflation data push Mexican peso higher.
Gold is trading higher after the World Gold Council said that April is the sixth straight month of inflows into gold-backed ETFs, and holdings now reached a new all-time high of 3,355t.
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