Asia – 2nd China COVID Wave Under Control

Markets are in the green this morning across the continent on US index recoveries. The Nikkei is up 4.9%, the Hang Seng nearly 3%, and China 1.3% across the board.

The Bank of Japan maintained its -0.1% interest rate, pledging a further $1 tn in lending packages for corporate assistance.

Meanwhile, the daily COVID infection count in Beijing fell to 27 yesterday as some transport venues are closed down.

House prices in Australia expanded by a disappointing 1.6% in Q1 (QoQ) – half the previous reading.

Europe – Johnson Optimistic on Post Brexit FTA

The GBP is up 0.65% this morning after the UK and EU agreed to intensify post-Brexit relationship talks yesterday.

Following PM Johnson’s meeting with EC Pres von der Layan, the British leader said he believed a free trade agreement was just over the horizon.

Equities were in the red upon closing yesterday, the FTSE down 2/3 of a percent and the DAX a third.

The EU’s trade surplus narrowed unexpectedly to a mere €2.9 bn in April – half the month before.

Italy’s consumer inflation deteriorated by another tick while Swiss import prices improved by half the expectations – contracting a mere ½ percent.

Americas – Help Launched. Trump Targets another Trillion

Ahead of today’s testimony by Fed Head Powell to Congress, US indices recovered nicely during the session, regaining a full half of last week’s losses – this as the central bank’s corporate bond buying and “Main Street” $600 bn loans programmes enter full swing.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that the Trump administration is planning a $1 tn infrastructure development programme to help spur the economy.

New York’s manufacturing index improved spectacularly in June to -0.2 points, following May’s -48.5.

Commodities – Gold Up on Powell

Oil is down a quarter percent this morning and gold is up by the same ahead of Powell’s testimony.

Corporate – Samsung Launches 5G in the US

Broadcom is up 1.3%, but Nokia is flat after the two announced a joint effort to develop a 5G infrastructure – this as Samsung announced it would launch its Qualcomm-powered 5G A71 phone this week.

Apple is up a percent and a ¼ as the EU prepares to launch an anti-trust investigation against the company.

BP shares are down 2.18% after announcing a $17 bn write-off in company value, and Oracle today publishes its 4th quarter annual report.

Events