Daily Summary: Bitcoin below 70,000 USD 🔔

Wall Street indexes are trading lower today, though the declines are not significant. The S&P 500 is down 0.30% to 5150 points, while the Nasdaq100 is trading 0.15% lower around 18,030 points.

European session sentiments were mixed. The DAX and FTSE experienced slight losses, while the CAC40 made modest gains. Shares of the arms company Rheinmetall, one of the strongest components of the MSCI World since the beginning of the year alongside Nvidia, rose over 5%. The company announced expansion plans and the construction of arms factories in Ukraine.

EURUSD loses nearly 0.6% today. ECB member Luis De Guindos expects a rebound in the Eurozone economy in the second half of the year and indicated that the bank will have enough data to make a decision in June.

Today's session across the ocean brought a strengthening of the dollar and an increase in yields after PPI inflation readings and labor market data surprised the market, suggesting a possibly more cautious stance from the Fed and Powell at the June meeting.

The PPI report negatively surprised markets with higher readings than expected. For core inflation, the change was slightly less - month-over-month: 0.3% m/m (expected: 0.2% m/m; previously: 0.5% m/m). However, changes were more significant for headline inflation, due to higher fuel prices - month-over-month: 0.6% m/m (expected: 0.3% m/m; previously: 0.3% m/m).

Data on U.S. business inventories indicated a 0% month-over-month growth compared to 0.2% m/m forecasts and 0.3% previously. The U.S. inventory-to-sales ratio has been steadily improving since the last quarter of 2023, signaling a decrease in inventories/higher sales.

U.S. retail sales turned out to be slightly lower than forecasts. The month-over-month reading showed a 0.2% increase compared to 0.3% expectations. Sales excluding automobiles were 0.3%, compared to the 0.4% expected.

Nasdaq 100, S&P 500, and Dow Jones indexes are losing slightly, within the range of 0.3 to 0.1%. The Russell 2000 small-cap benchmark is down nearly 1.9%.

Among tech companies, Nvidia and Tesla shares are the weakest performers today. However, Microsoft shares managed to reach new highs, and the sentiment around Apple improved after the company announced the acquisition of the startup DarwinAI.

According to the EIA report, natural gas inventories fell by 9 million cubic feet (bcf) compared to the expected decline of 2 bcf and a 40 bcf drop previously. Natural gas futures contracts are gaining over 5% today.

Oil is trading higher. Both Brent and WTI are gaining over 1%.

Cocoa futures rose by over 6% today. The ICCO (International Cocoa Organization) expects a deficit this year that is five times greater than the previous season and anticipates another shortage of raw materials in the next season.

African companies involved in cocoa processing have halted cocoa bean purchases or reduced production capacities, citing high prices and a lack of available raw material supplies.

Sentiment in the precious metals market remains mixed. Gold loses 0.6 USD and under dollar pressure, is testing levels around 2160 USD per ounce.

Bitcoin loses more than 4.00% today and has slipped below 70,000 USD. Declines are visible among altcoins, where only Dogecoin stands out with an increase. According to BitcoinMagazine, Cetera Financial Group agreed to offer clients a spot ETF on Bitcoin.