Daily summary: Stock markets remain calm, volatile session for oil

• Weak data from the US housing market
• Better than expected earnings from major US retailers
• Oil price swings widely on news regarding Iran nuclear deal

European indices finished today's session flat, still remaining near record levels. DAX 30 pulled back after reaching a new ATH of 15,538 pts. CAC 40 briefly touched a 20-1/2-year high while FTSE100 remains close to a 14-month high of 7,130 pts. On the data front, the Eurozone economy contracted 0.6% in the first quarter. In the UK, the first-quarter jobs report showed a continued fall in unemployment, a further rise in vacancies to their pre-pandemic levels, and growth in the employment rate. 

S&P500 and Dow Jones both fell slightly in light trading on Tuesday while Nasdaq rose 0.30%, as upbeat quarterly figures from major retailers  - Walmart, Home Depot and Macy's managed to partially offset disappointing data from the US housing market. Housing starts in the US plunged 9.5 % to an annualized rate of 1.569 million in April , from last month's near 15-year high of 1.733 million and well below analysts’ estimates 1.71 million, partially due to rising material costs especially timber and difficulties to find qualified workers. Meanwhile building permits rose only 0.3 % from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.76 million in April, from the previous month's 1.755 million and below market expectations of 1.77 million. Tomorrow investors’ attention will focus on minutes of the US Fed's April meeting. Traders will be looking for clues regarding policymakers' next moves.

Oil traders experienced some wild price swings today. WTI crude jumped to a 10-week high of $67 a barrel early in the session and then fell sharply to $64.15 a barrel in the afternoon after BBC reported that an important announcement regarding the Iran nuclear deal should be released tomorrow. Russia's envoy said they both sides made "great progress" and that "important news will likely come by tomorrow." However oil managed to recover some of the losses and is trading around $65.30 a barrel after the same envoy said later that he did not say there was a breakthrough in Iranian nuclear talks. However, there was significant progress, but unresolved issues still remain. Elsewhere gold rose slightly to $ 1,868.00 / oz, while silver is trading 0.3% higher, around $ 28.25 / oz amid a weaker dollar. Treasury yields stalled amid renewed expectations that the Federal Reserve will not tighten monetary policy anytime soon, following several central bankers speeches from yesterday.

WTI crude (OIL.WTI) fell sharply following news regarding the Iran nuclear deal. However sellers failed to break below the lower limit of the ascending channel and buyers managed to erase a bigger part of the losses. As long as the price sits within the channel, further upward move towards resistance at $67.01 is possible. On the other hand,  if sellers manage to break below support at $63.50, which coincides with the lower limit of the 1:1 structure, then a bigger downward correction may be on the cards. Source: xStation5