Daily Summary: Wall Street trade sideways, while NATGAS drops 7% !

• US stocks fluctuate ahead of a crucial meeting between US President Joe Biden and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to iron out roadblocks in debt-ceiling negotiations.

• Wall Street major indices have little changed. THe US500 gains 0.15% to 4,215 points and US100 0.40% to 13,900 points.

• Shares of regional bank PacWestBancorp (PACW.US) are gaining after the company reported a sale to Kennedy-Wilson Holdings of a portfolio of 74 real estate construction loans with an outstanding balance of about $2.6 billion.

• Micron Technology (MU.US) shares are down following an announcement by China's cybersecurity regulator that the company's products did not pass a cybersecurity review. Consequently, the use of Micron's products will be prohibited in critical infrastructure projects in China, the world's second-largest economy.

• Yields on short-term Treasuries saw an increase, indicating market uncertainty and potential inflation concerns, and the 10Y bond yield rose to 3.70%.

• Today, FED members - Bullard, Bostic, Daly and Barking commented on the current macroeconomic outlook. Comments were mixed but more hawkish than dowish. 

  • Known for his hawkish view of US monetary policy, the head of the St.Louis Fed. 

  • James Bullard indicated today that further rate hikes in the US are as possible and justified. Raphael Bostic prefers to maintain interest rates unchanged next month, wanting to assess the unfolding impact of current policy actions. 

  • Thomas Barkin keeps his options open for the June meeting, remaining unconvinced about the potential cooling effect of previous rate hikes and tighter credit standards.

  • Mary Daly advises against premature decisions on the tightening cycle for the rest of the year, highlighting the significance of a potential pullback in bank lending.

• The urgency of reaching a deal to raise the debt limit was emphasized by Treasury Secretary Yellen, with low chances of the US being able to pay all its bills by mid-June, which could lead to market concerns and volatility.

• The EUR/USD pair has been under pressure over the past few weeks; however, last Friday, bulls showed signs of strength once again.

• Industrial metals were broadly weaker due to concern surrounding China's economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic, copper is down 1.32% and zinc falls 2.26%.

• The start of the week did not bring any significant developments for energy commodities. Crude oil prices remained stable as the market awaited updates on the ongoing U.S. debt ceiling negotiations. Despite lower supplies from Canada and OPEC+ producers providing support, the strength of the dollar offset these gains. Oil.WTI increases 0.6% to $72.40 per barrel. 

• NATGAS plummets more than 7% probably due to increased output and revised forecasts indicating lower demand for the upcoming week compared to previous expectations. Despite power generators relying more on natural gas for electricity generation in recent weeks due to reduced wind power, and lower-than-normal gas exports from Canada due to wildfires in Alberta, the price declined.

• Cryptocurrency market trade sideways with no significant moves in any direction. BTC is trading 0.40% higher at $26,800 and ETH is trading 0.65% higher at $1,812.

NATGAS price decreases by over 7%, wiping out last week's gains, H1 timeframe, source: xStation 5