- European stock indexes are digesting the French election results today. The New Popular Front (a left-wing party) won 182 seats, Ensemble (President Macron's bloc) won 168 seats, and National Unity won 143 seats. This result does not give either party a secure majority, which could lead to a potential legislative deadlock in the country. France's CAC40 is down 0.6% today, Germany's DAX remains at the previous session's closing price, and Italy's IT40 gains 0.2%. The STOXX Europe 600 remains at a similar level to the previous session's closing price.
- Wall Street indices remain at neutral levels. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones are trading near the closing prices of recent sessions, while the Nasdaq 100 gains 0.2% and the Russell 2000 0.7%. Continued declines are seen in US 10-year bond yields, which fell to 4.27%.
- Among the strong gains, AI companies again stand out. Shares of optical cable manufacturer used in data centers Corning are gaining more than 11% after; the company raised quarterly forecasts, citing demand from the AI industry.
- Morgan Stanley's recommendation for TSMC and J.P. Morgan's comments support the chipmakers sector. TSMC and Nvidia are gaining 2.5% today, while Intel is up more than 5%.
- Shares of container freight companies are seeing declines triggered by the prospect of a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and Hurricane Beryl, which could cripple ports in the Gulf of Mexico. Israel's ZIM operator records near 15% declines
- Oil records a nearly 1% retreat; precious metals also record discounts today after a strong previous week. Gold is down 1.4%, and silver is losing 1.7%.
- The weakest G10 currency today is the Swedish krona, which loses 0.7%. In addition to it, the Norwegian krone (-0.3%) and the New Zealand dollar (-0.2%) are posting stronger declines.
- Wheat futures are trading near 4% declines and erasing July's gains due to oversupply concerns, the erasure of the 'weather premium,' the stabilization of the dollar and consistently low export prices in Russia, with relatively low import demand
- Cryptocurrency market sentiment is slightly better than last week, and Bitcoin is trying to hold above $56k. Data from U.S. ETFs showed $143 million in net inflows into the funds on Friday
