Markets in a Flash

·         Asian equity markets had a mixed session overnight. The Hang Seng finished flat +0.01% up. The Nikkei 225 was down -0.59%.

·         European equity markets are making gains today and are progressively getting higher. This is on the back of strong European economic data.

·         Commodities are pushing higher this morning. Oil and Gold are both trading higher in today’s session while copper is up over +1%

·         The EUR is looking strong today pushing higher against other currencies. This is due to the strong economic data. The EUR/USD has firmly broken 1.3000 and is nearing 1.3100.

·         The GBP is looking strong against the USD as it pushes to new 5 month highs. The GBP/USD is trading slightly higher than its April highs.

·         US equity futures are higher this morning by around +0.5%. This should lead to an increase in the equity markets at the open.

News Focus

European Data

Data released today in Europe has reduced fears of a double dip recession in the Eurozone economy. The data has pushed equity markets higher and has strengthened the EUR.

European economic confidence has risen to its highest level in 2 years. The confidence index is a survey of 130,000 managers and 40,000 consumers. The index was expected to report a figure around 99, but the figure released today was 101.3.

German unemployment data showed a reduction in the number of people unemployed in Europe’s largest economy.  The jobless rate fell from 7.7% to 7.6%, this is a reduction of 20,000 people to 3.21m.

 

Just Released

0830ET - Jobless Claims

New Claims - Level

Previous                464 K              Consensus     460 K

Consensus Range  455 K to 500 K   Actual           457K

This week’s figure has seen the number of people filing for jobless insurance fall to 457K. This figure has come in better than economist’s consensus of 460k. This suggests the employment market is better than expected and is bullish for the economy.

 

Coming up Today

1030ET – Natural Gas Report

The weekly report by the Energy Information Administration provides data on US natural gas stocks. A report showing a drop in natural gas stocks may signal increasing demand in the economy and see an increase in the price of the commodity.

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