Morning wrap (05.07.2023)

• Indices from Asia-Pacific traded slightly lower today. Nikkei and S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.3%, Kospi traded 0.4% down and Nifty 50 declined 0.1%. Indices from China are trading 0.5-1.2% lower

• European index futures point to a lower opening of the cash session on the Old Continent. US index futures trade mostly flat

• Chinese officials warned that retaliatory measures may increase if restrictions targeting Chinese companies continue to increase. China announced restrictions on exports of gallium and germanium on Monday, two metals important in production of semiconductors

• Wall Street Journal reports that US may restrict access to cloud computing services to Chinese companies

• Morgan Stanley says that there is still a path to soft landing and that recession in the United States is avoidable. Nevertheless, Morgan Stanley sees US economy as slowing with moderating spending and slowing labor market

• Chinese services PMI plunged from 57.1 to 53.9 in June (exp. 56.2)

• Indian services PMI dropped from 61.2 to 58.5 in June (exp. 60.2)

• Australian services PMI dropped from 52.1 to 50.3 in June (50.7 in first release)

• Major cryptocurrencies are trading mixed. Bitcoin and Dogecoin gain 0.1%, Ethereum drops 0.3% and Litecoin plunges 1.3%

• Oil is trading 0.1% lower while US natural gas prices increase 1%

• Precious metals trade slightly higher. Gold and silver trade flat while platinum gains 0.5% and palladium adds 0.3%

• NZD and GBP are the best performing major currencies while JPY and CHF lag the most

Chinese index CHNComp is pulling back after a failed attempt at breaking above the 200-session moving average (purple line). Support zone ranging above 6,350 pts will now be on watch. Source: xStation5