Morning wrap (19.07.2023)

• Asia-Pacific indices traded at mixed levels during Wednesday's trading session, given the lingering uncertainty surrounding the Chinese economy. Japan's Nikkei gained close to 0.85%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.42% above yesterday's closing levels and India's Nifty 50 rallied close to 0.25%. The Hang Seng Index is currently leading the declines in APAC markets (-1.17%).

• Yesterday's session on Wall Street was dominated by gains in the Russell 2000 index, which benefited from capital inflows into ETFs based on regional US banks.

• Futures on the DAX and S&P 500 indices pointed to a slightly higher opening of the cash session on markets in Europe and the US. 

• The dollar index has stopped its recent downward momentum, nevertheless it remains below the psychological barrier of 100. The EURUSD pair is trading above the resistance of 1.12, weakness is currently being recorded in the JPY, the USDJPY pair is back above the 139 zone. 

• Key topics in today's session include the UK inflation reading, Eurozone inflation and quarterly results from Tesla, Netflix, IBM and Goldman Sachs.

• ASML reported Q2 2023 orders of €4.5bn against expectations of €3.98bn. Furthermore, net sales also surprised on the upside at €6.9bn (expected: €6.69bn).

• The company's gross margin increased to 51.3% (50.6% expected). The company raised its earnings forecasts for 2023. The company's CEO added that the US-imposed semiconductor trade regulations will not affect the company's results.

• Nissan and Renault are expected to announce a new alliance agreement within days.

• China's Ministry of Industry says the industry is stagnating amid insufficient demand and falling revenues.

• Inflation data from New Zealand came in above expectations, however, the money market saw no change in predictions regarding the next rate hike by the RBNZ. The NZDUSD pair erases early rally. 

• Credit Suisse raised its year-end forecast for the S&P 500 to 4700 points from its previous 4050 points. 

• Citi's global head of commodity market analysis sees oil in the $70 to $90 range.

• Data from the private oil market research (API) shows a smaller increase in oil inventories than expected.

• The cryptocurrency market is seeing improved sentiment. Bitcoin gains 1%, Ethereum adds 0.9% and Cardano is trading 4.5% higher.

• Precious metals are slightly halting yesterday's upward wave. Gold is currently losing 0.1% and testing the 1976 USD level, while silver is subtracting 0.5% and holding in the $25 zone. 

Heatmap on the FX market showing the volatility on each currency pair at the moment. Source: xStation 5