- US100 surges 1.6% and hits all-time highs. The technology sector continues its impressive winning streak on global stock exchanges. Leading the gains are semiconductor companies such as Nvidia and AMD, which are up 2% and 5%, respectively.
- The energy sector remains under pressure, with companies like Exxon Mobil and Chevron posting declines. This suggests a shift of capital towards technology and financials as tensions related to the Middle East conflict begin to ease. Profit-taking is also observed in defense stocks.
- European markets have seen even stronger gains. The German DAX remains elevated, posting a daily increase close to 1.6%. The EUR/USD exchange rate strengthened by over 0.4%.
- U.S. data came in below forecasts. Consumer sentiment, according to the Conference Board, unexpectedly fell to 93, below both the 99.8 forecast and 98 in May. Inflation expectations declined slightly, stabilizing at 6%, down from 7% in May.
- The S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index for 20 U.S. metro areas showed a 3.4% y/y gain, missing the 4% estimate and down from the previous 4.1%. Seasonally adjusted, prices declined -0.3%, more than the expected -0.1%. May data was revised to -0.2% from -0.1%. The Richmond Fed regional index delivered a modest positive surprise, printing -7 vs. -9 expected.
- Jerome Powell completed the first day of his congressional testimony. The Fed Chair noted that the impact of tariff changes on inflation will likely become visible with CPI readings for June, July, and August. This indicates that a decisive FOMC decision on whether to cut interest rates or keep them unchanged may not come until after that period.
- In currency markets, we mainly observe a decline in the U.S. dollar along with gains in the Japanese yen and Swiss franc. The USD/JPY pair falls back below 144.600, and the USD Index (USDIDX) is down 0.55%.
- Canadian inflation data was nearly in line with forecasts, holding at 1.7% y/y, unchanged from the prior reading. However, monthly CPI rose 0.6%, above the 0.5% estimate and previous -0.1%. Core CPI increased 0.6% m/m, compared to 0.5% previously, with the annual core rate remaining at 2.5% y/y.
- Crude oil is down over 4.5%, driven by confirmation of a ceasefire agreement, reiterated by Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Also, futures on natural gas decline as markets price in lower odds of closing a Strait of Hormuz, while US weather signals more cold weather after record heat
- Gold is down more than 2% intraday. The reduction in geopolitical risk — at least temporarily — removes a key bullish driver that recently pushed precious metal prices higher. From a technical perspective, today’s pullback touches the 50-day exponential moving average (blue line on the chart below), a level that has acted as a critical support zone in GOLD’s uptrend over recent months.
- Bitcoin is up 2%, benefiting from equity market optimism and dollar weakness.
Source: xStation5
Source: NOAA
