Global Fundamental Analysis 29/04/2020

Australian Market

US Market

U.S. stocks finished modestly lower as more states prepared to relax coronavirus-containment measures, though a resurgence of economically-sensitive shares
suggested growing optimism among investors about the path forward.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.5%, as declines in technology and health-care stocks, which have the smallest losses year-to-date of the 11 sectors, weighed against gains in the
harder-hit energy, financial and industrial groups.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.4%.

Commodities

Gold futures posted a third straight session decline, but finished off the session’s worst levels after data revealed that U.S. consumer confidence suffered a record drop in April.

Gold for June delivery on Comex lost $1.60, or 0.09%, to settle at $1,722.20 following a low at $1.704.10 an ounce. July silver, which is now the most-active contract, lost 1.3 cents, or 0.08%, at $15.328 an ounce.

Oil Futures

U.S. benchmark oil futures finished with a loss of more than 3% — modest in comparison with the nearly 25% drop in prices seen a day earlier.
Weak global crude demand, excess supply and a lack of storage have weighed on prices, which trade down by close to half for the month. Prices, however, spent some time trading higher, as a report from Reuters said a bomb on an oil tanker in Syria exploded, raising the risk premium in the oil market.

June West Texas Intermediate oil fell 44 cents, or 3.4%, to settle at $12.34 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract trades more than 48% month to date, according to FactSet data.

Forex

The U.S. dollar weakened slightly against the euro and depreciated 0.3% against the yen. The Bank of America is expecting the Fed to give a downbeat assessment of the U.S. economy on Wednesday, which should cause the dollar to rally, while ING said the euro should strengthen if the ECB acts to protect the eurozone economy from coronavirus fallout at Thursday’s policy meeting.  The WSJ Dollar Index declined 0.3%.

European Markets

European sharemarkets closed higher again on Tuesday. Investors were encouraged that several countries were starting to ease lockdowns. Banks led the way, up by 4.9%. Shares in UBS rose 7.1% after reporting a 40% lift in profit. Shares in BP rose 2.6% despite reporting weaker first quarter profits. The pan-European STOXX 600 rose by 1.7%. The German Dax index rose 1.3%. The UK FTSE index lifted by 1.9% with London-listed shares of Rio Tinto up by 0.3% and BHP shares 1.3% higher.

Asian Markets

Earlier in the day in Asia, Japanese stocks gave up some of their previous day’s gains, with the Nikkei Stock Average closing 0.1% lower at 19771.19, following a further slide in oil prices which signal a bleak outlook for energy demand.

South Korean stocks rose for a second consecutive session on hopes for the return of economic activity as some countries move to ease lockdowns aimed at containing the
Covid-19 pandemic. The benchmark Kospi closed 0.6% higher at 1934.09, led by gains in tourism and retail stocks. Markets oscillated between small gains and losses as corporate earnings trickled out.

Hong Kong stocks ended higher as the market sustained a winning streak so far this week. The Hang Seng Index rose 1.2% to 24575.96. Property and financial stocks, which supported the index yesterday, led gains again. Singapore stocks advanced amid a mixed performance from Asian equities, as investors took their cue from the falling number of new coronavirus cases in the island state.