Last Updated 4:05 PM EST
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Stock indices finished today’s trading session lower following economic data released by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Federal Reserve. As a result, the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), the S&P 500 (SPX), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell 0.03%, 0.2%, and 0.38%, respectively.
The materials sector (XLB) was the session’s laggard, as it fell 2.52%. Conversely, the utilities sector (XLU) was the session’s leader, with a gain of 1.12%.
Furthermore, the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield increased to 3.93%. The Two-Year Treasury yield also increased, as it hovers around 4.94%. This brings the spread between them to -101 basis points.
Compared to Monday, the market appears to have more conviction about the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates between 5.25% and 5%. Indeed, the probability increased to 52.8% at the time of writing, with the current range of 5% to 5.25% seeing a slight tick up as well to 14.6%.
Last updated: 2:10PM EST
Stocks remain under pressure at the time of writing after the Federal Reserve released its meeting minutes. Indeed, the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), the S&P 500 (SPX), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are down 0.1%, 0.3%, and 0.4%, respectively.
Last updated: 11:58AM EST
Stocks are in the red so far in today’s trading session as investors await the Federal Reserve’s June FOMC meeting minutes. At the time of writing, the S&P 500 (SPX) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are down 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) is relatively flat.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Census Bureau released its Factory Orders report, which measures the change in the total value of new purchase orders placed with manufacturers. During May, factory orders increased by 0.3% on a month-over-month basis. This missed expectations of a 0.8% increase.
However, when excluding transportation, factory orders fell by -0.5%, which was an improvement from the previous report of -0.6% but much lower than the forecast of a 0.5% increase.
Last updated: 9:30AM EST
Stock markets opened lower on Wednesday after the July 4 holiday and as investors await the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s June policy meeting today afternoon. The Nasdaq 100 (NDX), S&P 500 (SPX), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are down 0.31%, 0.34%, and 0.33%, respectively, at 9:30 a.m. EST, July 5.
First published: 4:28AM EST
U.S. Futures are trending down on Wednesday morning as traders await the opening of the shortened trading week today. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), S&P 500 (SPX), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are down 0.41%, 0.26%, and 0.22%, respectively, at 4:00 a.m., EST, July 5. Global markets are inching down following the result of a private survey that shows China’s services sector activity is experiencing material softness.
U.S. Markets closed early on Monday, July 3, and were closed in honor of American Independence Day yesterday. Experts expect the second half of 2023 to have a solid start, just as the first half finished with a bang. Meanwhile, the U.S.-China trade war keeps worsening. After China put a ban on the exports of gallium and germanium effective August 1, the Biden Administration is now contemplating restricting the access of Chinese companies to the cloud services of tech giants like Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN).
Turning toward the economy, the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s June FOMC meeting will be released today at 2 p.m. EST. Markets will gauge the extent of hawkishness that the minutes could spell for the rest of the year and learn any cues on the health of the U.S. economy. Also, New York Fed President John Williams will speak at the 2023 Annual Meeting of the Central Bank Research Association today.
May Factory orders will be released today, with expectations pegged at a 0.6% increase over April’s figures. Additionally, ADP Employment figures, Weekly Initial Jobless Claims, and Payroll data will be released later this week. Further, the American clothing company Levi Strauss (NYSE:LEVI) is scheduled to report Q2FY23 earnings tomorrow after the market closes.
Elsewhere, European indices are trading in the red on Wednesday, following the news of a slowdown in China’s service activity in June. Also, oil prices are hovering higher since Saudi Arabia and Russia announced cuts to oil production on Monday. The WTI crude is trading above $71 as of the last check today.
Asia-Pacific Markets Tumble on China’s Woes
Asia-Pacific indices tumbled after the Caixin/S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey showed a significant slowdown in China’s services activity. Major indices finished the trading session in negative territory on Wednesday.
China’s PMI index dropped to 53.9 in June from 57.1 in May. The reading is nearing the 50-point mark, below which the index indicates contraction. China’s economic growth trajectory has faced challenges in recovering from the impact of extensive COVID-19 lockdowns, which severely damaged the economy. Additionally, the post-pandemic slowdown in demand has further added pressure to the situation.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and China’s Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Component indexes ended lower by 1.57%, 0.69%, and 0.91%, respectively.
Similarly, Japan’s Nikkei and Topix indices finished the trading session down by 0.25% and 0.01%, respectively.
