Daily Summary: Wall Street struggles for direction; cryptocurrencies trade higher 📌

Indexes on Wall Street ended the day slightly up. The US500 gained 0.20% to 5530 points, and the US100 increased by 0.45%, returning above 20000 points.

Today, investors were not convinced about any direction. At the opening of the cash session, we observed gains that were later reduced after the publication of ISM reports. During the day, the US100 even lost 0.50% for a moment.

Indexes in Europe are having a relatively positive session. The biggest gains are seen in indexes from France (FRA40), Italy (ITA40), and Austria (AUT20). On the other hand, losses can be observed in the Wig20 index (W20) in Poland and the FTSE 100 (UK100) in the United Kingdom.

The FRA40 is rebounding today but largely reducing gains and almost closing the entire gap created at the opening. Earlier, the contract tested the recent local peaks at the level of 7735 points.

The banking sector led the gains observed today on European stock exchanges. French banks, in particular, are performing well, rebounding after the parliamentary elections on Sunday.

As expected, the elections were won by the National Rally led by Marine Le Pen, which received just over 33% of the vote with a turnout of almost 67%. The "Center" of current President Emmanuel Macron received 21% of the votes, slightly better than expected. Despite the far-right likely taking control of the government for the first time in recent years, it will not be a solo government.

The ISM report for US manufacturing came in worse than expected. Weakness in the economy, plus lower price data and a return of the employment sub-index below 50 points. EURUSD rebounded sharply on the reading, but the move was largely neutralised. The ISM reading is in line with the trend of readings from Asia and Europe. 

• ISM Manufacturing Prices: actual 52.1; forecast 55.8; previous 57.0;
• ISM Manufacturing PMI: actual 48.5; forecast 49.2; previous 48.7;
• ISM Manufacturing New Orders Index: actual 49.3; forecast 49.0; previous 45.4;
• ISM Manufacturing Employment: actual 49.3; forecast 50.0; previous 51.1;

German CPI came below expectations at actual 2.2% YoY; forecast 2.3% YoY; previous 2.4% YoY. Reaction to the data was limited, even though the readings were slightly below expectations. CPI data from individual German regions were already known in the morning, allowing investors to better estimate the final publications. 

Tesla (TSLA.US) shares are up 7.00% today, reaching $210, the highest among all stocks in the SP500. This marks the fifth consecutive session of gains, making it one of the best periods in the past year. The main catalyst for the increase was bullish vehicle delivery reports from Chinese competitors.

The cryptocurrency market is trading up today, with Bitcoin and Ethereum gaining close to 2.70% and 2,20% respectively. A weaker ISM reading from US manufacturing did not put much pressure on the US dollar, and it's back on the rise after an initial slide. Data shows that ETFs resumed buying Bitcoin last Friday; recording the first major net inflows in a dozen sessions. Cryptocurrency halted declines at $60,000 level and now bulls are sending Bitcoin prices higher, to $63,500 resistance zone.