ECB and Bank of Canada Cut Interest Rates
Stock Market News Today: Indices Mixed; Jobless Data Disappoints
Today's Economic Calendar and Corporate Earnings
Mixed Indices Amid Disappointing Jobless Data
- Stock indices are showing mixed performance today. The Department of Labor's latest Initial Jobless Claims report revealed higher-than-expected unemployment claims, with 229,000 new filings against an expectation of 220,000. The four-week average dipped slightly to 222,250 from 223,000 last week. Continuing Jobless Claims also surpassed forecasts, coming in at 1.792 million compared to the expected 1.79 million.
Economic Growth Estimates Rise
- The Atlanta Federal Reserve's updated GDPNow reading estimates a 2.6% growth in the economy for the second quarter, up from a previous 1.8% estimate. This increase follows new data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Institute for Supply Management, and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
ECB and Bank of Canada Cut Interest Rates
- The European Central Bank announced its first interest rate cut since September 2019, lowering the rate to 4.25% from 4.5%. Similarly, the Bank of Canada reduced its interest rate from 5% to 4.75%. These moves could strengthen the U.S. dollar.
U.S. Futures and Market Performance
- U.S. futures showed stability Thursday morning after a robust trading session on Wednesday. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite hit record highs, driven by Nvidia’s (NVDA) 5.2% rally. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 were up by 0.12% and 0.03%, respectively, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down by 0.05%. On Wednesday, the Nasdaq, S&P 500, and Dow Jones rose by 1.96%, 1.18%, and 0.25%, respectively. Nvidia surpassed a $3 trillion market cap, becoming the world’s second-most valuable company.
Today's Economic Calendar and Corporate Earnings
- Key economic data for today includes the Initial Jobless Claims for the week ending May 31. Significant corporate earnings reports are expected from J.M. Smucker (SJM), Nio (NIO), Ciena (CIEN), DocuSign (DOCU), and Braze (BRZE). The U.S. 10-year treasury yield was around 4.31%, and WTI crude oil futures hovered near $74.82 per barrel.
European Markets and ECB Rate Cut Expectations
- European markets opened higher today, driven by increased expectations of the ECB cutting interest rates.
Asia-Pacific Markets Performance
- Asia-Pacific indices closed mixed today. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose by 0.28%, Japan’s Nikkei and Topix indices increased by 0.55% and 0.33%, respectively. Conversely, China’s Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Component indices fell by 0.54% and 0.57%, respectively.
Stay tuned for further updates as markets react to today's economic data and corporate earnings reports.