Forex News

Industrial production in Argentina plunged by 21.2% year-on-year in March 2024, extending the tenth consecutive month of contraction, a significant drop from the previous month's 9.9% decrease and representing the most substantial decline since May 2020. The slowdown was witnessed in all major industries including basic metals (-34.8% vs -21.2% in February), other equipment, devices, and instruments (-42.8% vs -32.6%), the manufacturing industry (-40.4% vs -29.5%), oil refining, coke, and nuclear fuel (-8.6% vs -2.5%), wood, paper, publishing, and printing (-19.3% vs -5.3%), machinery and equipment (-32.6% vs -23%), and food and beverages output (-14.4% vs -1.4%). On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, industrial production further contracted by 6.3%, following a 0.7% decrease in the prior month.

Brazil's trade surplus surged by 13.7% to $9.04 billion in April 2024 compared to the same period last year, marking the year's highest surplus. Exports jumped by 14.1% year-on-year to $30.92 billion, led by a 48.6% increase in extractive industry exports to $7.56 billion and a 16.6% rise in manufacturing sales totaling $15.07 billion. Meanwhile, imports grew by 14.3% to $21.88 billion, driven by a 58.1% rise in agricultural purchases to $0.55 billion and a 15.3% decline in manufacturing imports to $19.6 billion, while extractive industry purchases dropped by 3.1% to $1.58 billion.

Top commodity losers are Corn (-4.72%), Cheese (-4.43%) and Orange Juice (-1.67%). Gains are led by Cotton (3.42%) and Butter (2.09%).

Top commodity losers are Steel Rebar (-0.99%) and Copper (-0.88%). In addition, there was a slight change on Gold (-0.09%).

Stocks in the US faced challenges making a headway during Wednesday's afternoon session, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hovering near the flatline. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones was up by more than 100 points, poised to extend its winning streak to six days. Investors remained focused on corporate earnings reports and the Federal Reserve's policy outlook, especially after receiving mixed comments from several central bank officials. On the corporate front, shares of Uber sank nearly 9% after the company missed on earnings. Tesla also fell 1.7% after reports that U.S. prosecutors are examining whether Tesla committed securities or wire fraud by misleading investors and consumers about its electric vehicles’ self-driving capabilities. Conversely, Lyft Inc soared 4.5% after a revenue beat. Arista Networks jumped over 6% on strong earnings. After the bell, Arm, Instacart, and Robinhood are set to report their quarterly results.

Top commodity losers are Natural gas (-1.08%). Gains are led by Crude Oil WTI (0.80%), Heating Oil (0.59%) and Methanol (0.53%). In addition, there was a slight change on Brent Crude Oil (0.5051%).

The central bank of Bangladesh hiked its key interest rate by 50bps to 8.5% in May of 2024, extending its monetary tightening momentum to curb stubborn inflation, and introduced a crawling peg system for its currency. The new crawling peg system for spot purchases and sales of US dollars was set at the mid-range of BDT 117 per USD from BDT 110, compared to the interbank exchange rate of 110 prior to the central bank's decision, marking a transition away from the previous system of a more strict peg. The move is expected to precede a free-float exchange rate, pressured by the central bank’s pessimism over the ability to maintain the peg as its dollar reserves deplete.

Coca-Cola increased to a 40-week high of 62.84 USD. Over the past 4 weeks, Coca-Cola gained 5.97%, and in the last 12 months, it decreased 1.74%.

The ruble-based MOEX Russia index held its muted momentum to close marginally above the flatline at 3,432 on Wednesday, enough to halt a five-session losing streak but refraining from significantly rebounding as markets continued to assess how sanctions hamper the Russian corporate backdrop. Gazprom shares closed flat after tanking as much as 8% since last week as investors speculated on future sales without European clients and extraordinarily high natural gas prices. Results released last week showed that the gas giant recorded its first annual loss in 24 years, and the outlook remained pessimistic as Europe’s LNG demand is muted and the future of the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline remains uncertain. In the meantime, miners were mixed with Seligdar dropping 0.6%, but NLMK added 0.7% amid growing expectations that the company may return to paying out dividends this year.

Uber decreased to a 14-week low of 63.91 USD. Over the past 4 weeks, Uber lost 14.44%, and in the last 12 months, it increased 67.49%.

Royal Bank of Canada increased to a 4-week high of 139.66 CAD. Over the past 4 weeks, Royal Bank of Canada gained 0.12%, and in the last 12 months, it increased 7.9%.

The CAC 40 climbed 0.7% to close at 8,131 on Wednesday, marking the fourth consecutive session of gains, supported by expectations of an interest rate cut and upbeat corporate updates. Alstom emerged as the top performer, with shares surging 9.4% on higher sales and adjusted earnings, despite a widened net loss for the fiscal year. Carrefour also saw a notable uptick, with shares rising 1.4%, buoyed by Carrefour Brasil’s Q1 net profit of $7.7 million, a stark reversal from losses in the same period last year. Conversely, Stellantis declined 2%, following reports of certain Chinese carmakers considering establishing manufacturing and assembly plants in Europe to boost sales of lower-cost vehicles amid sluggish demand in China, the world’s largest car market.

The IBEX 35 gained some ground to close about 0.7% up at 11,153 on Wednesday, hovering around 2015-highs and advancing for the third successive day, thanks to the boost of business results. Amadeus added 3.4% and led the gains, on the back of positive Q1 results. Following it were IAG, with an increase of 3.2% and Sacyr, up 2.1%. Sabadell, for its part, has dropped 4.3% after learning that BBVA assured the entity that it has no intention of improving its takeover offer. BBVA, in turn, has advanced 0.9%. Fluidra was also among the top losers, after reporting a 10% yearly decline in Q1 earnings. Meanwhile, traders continued to monitor speeches from policymakers from both the Federal Reserve and ECB for clues about the future interest rate path.

In London, the FTSE 100 Index went up by 52 points or 0.63 percent on Wednesday. Top gainers were International Airlines Group (3.55%), Easyjet Plc (3.18%) and Beazley (2.72%). Biggest losses came from Ocado Group (-2.89%), Phoenix Holdings (-2.13%) and Glencore (-1.74%).

European stocks closed firmly higher for a fourth consecutive session on Wednesday amid continued support from expectations of looser monetary policy by the ECB and the Fed, and a batch of favorable corporate earnings reports. The Eurozone’s Stoxx 50 added 0.5% to close at a fresh 23-year high of 5,040, and the pan-European Stoxx 600 jumped 0.3% for a new record high of 516. AB InBev shares surged by 4% after the Belgian brewer reported better-than-expected sales in North America. Additionally, Munich Re led the gains in the financial sector in the currency bloc with a 3% jump after confirming its net profit guidance for the year. Regarding the broader Stoxx 600, Siemens Energy soared by 12.8% after the company returned to profit and lifted guidance, while French train maker Alstom added 9.4% after reporting higher sales and adjusted earnings despite a wider net loss for its fiscal year.

The JSE index recovered from some early losses to close about 0.3% up at 77,177 on Wednesday, its highest since April last year, extending gains for the fourth consecutive day. Traders continued to assess the Fed's interest rate outlook, while also monitoring more corporate earnings. Among single stocks, AB InBev was the top performer, up nearly 5%, after the company reported a rise of 2.6% in first-quarter sales, in line with forecasts. Other top gainers included Sappi and PicknPay, both adding more than 4% each. On the opposite side, the biggest laggards were Exxaro Resources (-7.6%), Karoo (-4.8%) and Sibanye-Stillwater (-4.1%).

Government bond yields are trading higher on Wednesday. Top losers are Turkey 10Y (-9.50bps), New Zealand 10Y (-4.38bps) and Russia 10Y (-2bps). Gains are led by Greece 10Y (4.60bps), Australia 10Y (4.60bps) and Canada 10Y (4.45bps).

The Ibovespa hovered below the flatline at the 129,200 level on Wednesday as investors treaded cautiously ahead of the Brazilian Central Bank’s interest rate decision amidst ongoing earnings reports. The Copom's latest monetary policy decision is anticipated after the closing bell, with expectations favoring a 0.25 percentage point rate cut, while a 0.50 percentage point cut is also under consideration. On the corporate front, Ambev experienced a 5.3% decline following its first-quarter financial report, showing a consolidated net profit of R$3.804 billion, marginally lower by 0.04% year-on-year, attributed mainly to the continual devaluation of the Argentine peso. Conversely, BRF, despite its remarkable 151% surge over the past year on B3, highlighted undervaluation, leading to a 13% increase in its shares, with its controlling stakeholder Marfrig also rising by 7%.

US natural gas futures climbed above $2.2/MMBtu, extending gains for a 5th day to levels not seen in nearly four months, driven by a combination of reduced output and forecasts predicting higher demand in the next two weeks. The surge in demand was primarily due to an uptick in gas flowing to LNG export plants and increased usage by gas power generators, particularly in Texas where hot weather prevailed. Major US LNG export facilities saw gas flows rise from 11.9 bcfd in April to 12.4 bcfd in May, supported by the return of Freeport LNG's Texas plant from maintenance. Gas flow to Freeport remained steady near a two-month high of 1.4 bcfd for the fourth consecutive day, a significant jump from April's average of 0.4 bcfd. On the supply side, gas production is projected to decrease by roughly 3.5 bcfd over the past four days, hitting a 16-week low of 94.3 bcfd on Wednesday.

US heating oil futures traded below $2.47 per gallon, hovering near the nine-month low of $2.44 reached on May 3rd, as increased supply and weak demand for distillate fuel tempered the impact of reduced crude oil inventories. Distillate stockpiles for the week ending May 3rd rose by 0.56 million barrels, surpassing the expected draw of 1 million barrels, according to the latest EIA report. Heating oil inventories similarly increased by 0.285 million barrels, rebounding from a 0.179 million barrel decline the previous week. Conversely, product demand decreased by 0.189 million barrels compared to the previous week, adding downward pressure on heating oil prices. However, crude oil inventories fell slightly less than expected, providing support to the commodity.