North American News
US stocks rally into the close and end the day near the highs
- Major indices up around 0.30%
The major US indices are rallying into the close and closing near the highs of the day.
A snapshot of the market closings show:
- Dow industrial average rose 100.82 points or 0.30% at 33987.32
- S&P index up 13.69 points or 0.33% at 4151.32
- NASDAQ index of 34.25 points or 0.28% at 12157.71
- Russell 2000 of small-cap stocks rose 21.68 points or 1.22% at 1802.83
Each of the major three indices traded negative on the day:
- Dow Industrial Average low was down -89.57 point
- S&P index low was down -14.45 points
- NASDAQ index low was down -59.37 points
US Empire Fed manufacturing index for April 10.8 versus -18.0 estimate
- Details of the New York Fed manufacturing index for April 2023
- Prior was -24.60
- Empire manufacturing index 10.8 versus -18.0 expected
- New orders 25.1 versus -21.7 last month
- Shipments 23.9 versus +13.4 last month
- Prices paid 33.0 versus 41.9 last month
- Employment -8.0 versus -10.1 last month
- prices received 23.7 versus +22.9 last month
- Inventories 8.2 versus -1.9 last month
- Delivery times 0.0 versus -7.6 last month
- Unfilled orders 0.0 versus -6.7 last month
six-month forward
- 6 month business conditions 6.6 versus 2.9 last
- new orders 6.6 versus 613 last month
- shipments 7.6 versus 13.3 last month
- unfilled orders -3.1 versus 5.7 last month
- delivery time -2.1 versus -7.6 last month
- inventory is -5.2 versus -11.4 last month
- prices paid 37.1 versus 31.4 last month
- prices received 29.9 versus 27.6 last month
- employees 13.4 versus -4.1 last month
- average employee work week 5.2 versus 6.7 last month
- capital expenditures 16.5 versus 13.3 last month
- technology spending 10.3 versus 13.3 last month
Feds Barkin: Wants further evidence that inflation is settling back to target
- Barkin is not a voting member in 2023
Fed’s Barkin is saying:
- Wants further evidence that inflation is settling back to target
- Economy operating just fine current level of rates
- He’s reassured by what he’s seeing in the banking sector
- Never want to declare victory on potential bank strain
NAHB housing market Index for April 45 versus 44 estimate
- National Association of Home Builders housing market Index for April 2023
- Prior report 44
- NAHB housing market index for April 45 versus 44 estimate
- Current sales 51 versus 49 last month
- Prospective buyers 31 versus 31 last month
- Next six months 50 versus 47 last month
Anything below 50 is indicative of a slowing market.
“For the fourth straight month, builder confidence has increased due to a lack of resale inventory despite elevated interest rates. Builders note that additional declines in mortgage rates, to below 6%, will price-in further demand for housing. Nonetheless, the industry continues to be plagued by building material issues, including lack of access to electrical transformer equipment.”
They added:
“Currently, one-third of housing inventory is new construction, compared to historical norms of a little more than 10%,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “More buyers looking at new homes, along with the use of sales incentives, have supported new home sales since the start of 2023. And while AD&C loan conditions are tight, there is not significant evidence thus far that pressure on the regional bank system has made this lending environment for builders and land developers worse.”
Commodities
Silver sticks to gains around $25.40 area, bullish potential intact
- Silver regains positive traction and reverses a part of Friday’s retracement slide from the YTD peak.
- The technical setup still favours bullish traders and supports prospects for further near-term gains.
- A convincing break below the $25.00 mark should pave the way for a meaningful corrective decline.
Silver attracts fresh buying on the first day of a new week and reverses a part of Friday’s retracement slide from levels just above the $26.00 mark, or a fresh one-year high. The white metal sticks to its modest intraday gains around the $25.45 region heading into the North American session and seem poised to prolong its recent appreciating move witnessed over the past month or so.
The recent breakout through the $24.30-$24.40 strong horizontal barrier and a subsequent move beyond the $25.00 psychological mark add credence to the near-term positive outlook for the XAG/USD. That said, the slightly overbought Relative Strength Index (RSI) on the daily chart might hold back traders from placing aggressive bets and keep a lid on any meaningful upside, at least for the time being.
In the meantime, any intraday slide might continue to attract fresh buyers and remain limited near the $25.00 mark. The latter should act as a pivotal point, which if broken decisively might prompt some technical selling and drag the XAG/USD towards the $24.30-$24.40 resistance-turned-support en route to the $24.00 mark. A convincing break below the latter might shift the bias in favour of bearish traders.
On the flip side, bulls might now wait for some follow-through buying beyond the YTD peak, around the $26.10 area touched on Friday, before placing fresh bets and positioning for a further appreciating move. The XAG/USD might then climb towards the next relevant hurdle near the $26.40-$26.50 zone before eventually aiming to test the 2022 peak, just ahead of the $27.00 round-figure mark.
Gold extends slide to $1,980 amid dollar strength
- Gold price resumed downside on Monday, fall to the $1,980$ area.
- Us Dollar rises across the board, boosted by higher US yields.
Gold price resumed the downside on Monday, breaking under $1,990. XAU/USD bottomed at $1,980 reaching the lowest level in a week.
As of writing it is hovering near $1,980 almost $60 from last week’s top. The reversal in gold gained momentum amid a rally of the US Dollar and higher US yields.
Expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates again in May pushed yields to the upside. The US 10-year yield rose to 3.60%, the highest level since late March. The US Dollar Index is advancing for the second day in a row, and is above 102.20.
Data released on Monday in the US showed a sharp rebound in the Empire Manufacturing Index in April to 10.8 from -24.60, surpassing expectations of -18.0. The numbers contribute to the expectations of one more rate hike from the Fed.
On the daily chart, XAU/USD is trading around the 20-period Simple Moving Average at the $1,990 area. If the yellow metal consolidates clearly below, the outlook would point to an extension of the correction. On the contrary, if gold manages to remain above and retakes $2,005 bulls may return. The next resistance is seen around $2,025.
WTI crude oil settle at $80.83
- Down -1.69% or -2.05%
The price of WTI crude oil futures are selling at $80.83. That’s down $1.69 or 2.05%. The low price reached $80.47. The high price was at $82.71. Looking at the daily chart the price, last week the price reached up to test the falling 200 day moving average currently at $83.38. Sellers leaned against the key moving average level and kept a lid on the pair.
EU News
Major European indices closed session with mixed results
- Italy, German and France markets lower. UK, Spain higher
The major European indices are ending with mixed results.
- German DAX -0.11%
- Frances CAC -0.28%
- UK’s FTSE 100 +0.10%
- Spain’s Ibex +0.17%
- Italy’s FTSE MIB -0.62%
Lagarde: On changing 2% goal, once inflation objective is achieved, we can discuss
- ECBs Lagarde answering questions
- Asked about changing 2% target goal, ECB president says once inflation objective is achieved we can discuss
- Witnessing a fragmentation of global economies
- We are witnessing a fragmentation of the global economy into competing blocs, with each bloc trying to pull as much of the rest of the world closer to its respective strategic interests and shared values.
- we may see more instability as global supply elasticity wanes
- we could see more multipolarity as geopolitical tensions continue to mount.
- The data do not show substantial changes in the use of international currencies
BOE Cunliffe: It will not be possible to give stablecoin holders protection against failure
BOE Deputy Gov. Cunliffe on stablecoin:
- Any systemic stablecoins in the UK will need to be backed with high quality and liquid assets
- It will not be possible initially at least to give a stablecoin holders industry funded protection against the failure of the coin.
- There may need to be limits at start of stablecoins used for payments
Other News
SpaceX scrubs starship launch
- Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starship launch has some issues before launch
The SpaceX Starship launch has been scrubbed due to a valve freezing issue. The space ship if successful could take up to 100 people on a mission to Mars down the road. The cargo capacity is also obviously higher as well. The booster itself is nearly double the equivalent NASA rocket. Of course the booster can also return and be reused which is huge for cost savings.
For now, the test – which will not be manned – will be delayed. There is no timetable for relaunch at this time.
House Speaker McCarthy: President won’t pay attention to House Republicans
- House speaker McCarthy speaking on CNBC
- Looking for ways to save money for the taxpayers
- Need to curb spending to curb inflation
- If you don’t tackle the spending problem, you never will
- Claw back the money appropriated for Covid that was not spent
- If the Fed acted faster they could have stopped inflation
- tax high spending, deficits under Pres. Biden
- says has not heard from the White House since first meeting with Biden
- a no strings attached debt limit increase will not pass
- the house will vote in coming weeks on a bill to lift the debt ceiling into next year
- spending should return to 2022 levels and limit growth of spending 21% over the next decade
Cryptocurrency News
Axie Infinity price eyes 30% gain as investor interest for AXS grows
- Axie Infinity price is consolidating above an uptrend line that could deliver more gains for investors.
- AXS could rise 30% if bullish momentum continues in the same trajectory.
- A daily candlestick close below the 50-day EMA at $8.81 will invalidate the bullish thesis.
Axie Infinity price (AXS) has been recording higher highs and higher lows since the first week of March as the bulls maintain the lead. The price action has set AXS to consolidate along an uptrend line delivering more gains for investors. If the trajectory maintains, the metaverse token could soon breach a critical resistance into an expanse where traders could rake in more profits.
Axie Infinity price eyes more gains as bulls grasp key recovery opportunities
Axie Infinity price is on course to record more gains, a move hugely attributed to bulls’ successful effort to maintain the lead. Based on the trajectory shown in the daily chart, AXS has been trading at a high level since March 10, with the price rising 25% to the current $9.11.
If bulls maintain the same accumulation pattern, Axie Infinity price could rise to tag the next barricade at $10.10, retesting the early March highs. In highly bullish cases, AXS could extend a neck higher to confront the 200-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $11.26 or make a 28.70% climb to tag the $11.73 target.
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