Morning Report – Wednesday 3rd June

Main Headlines

Donald Trump came under harsh criticism from religious leaders and Democrats after his hard line response to the George Floyd demonstrations. Thousands of people marched in protest in cities all over the US. New Yorkers face a nightly curfew of 8 p.m. this week as Governor Andrew Cuomo acknowledged the police were “not effective at doing their jobs.” Chicago is moving toward reopening, and the Pentagon called in additional troops to bases near Washington D.C.

Investors shrugged off signs further chaos in America, with European futures and Asian stocks tracking a rally on Wall Street that drove the S&P 500 to the highest since early March. Treasuries extended losses. The rupiah surged after record orders at a local bond auction. Gold slipped. Brent oil rose above $40 a barrel for the first time in almost three months.

Natural gas may be next to trade below zero as the $600 billion market remains extraordinarily oversupplied. The highest chance of this happening is in August or early September when there’s the greatest coincidence of lowest demand and highest storage inventories.

GBP

Sterling is touching one month highs on signs that Britain might be willing to compromise on sticking points in Brexit negotiations with the European Union provided support. Britain is expected to indicate flexibility over fisheries and trade rules if the European Union agrees to lessen its demands regarding regulatory alignment and fishing access, the Times newspaper reported yesterday as a new round of talks started.

EUR

The euro rose to the highest in almost three months yesterday on hopes policymakers will support the euro zone’s weakest economies with debt purchases to keep yields low. In Germany, Angela Merkel failed to broker a deal on a 100 billion euro stimulus package as her Christian Democratic led bloc and the Social Democrats didn’t reach an agreement after nine hours of talks in Berlin. Talks will reconvene today.

USD

The dollar is heading for a fifth straight day of losses as prospects of more government stimulus and a global economic recovery emboldened investors to step up holdings of riskier assets. The Australian dollar surged to a five month high against the dollar, as funds headed toward economies that are seen to be recovering the fastest from the coronavirus pandemic.

Main Economic Data/Central Banks/Government (ALL TIMES BST)

8:00 a.m.: Turkey May CPI, PPI
8:15 a.m.: Spain May Composite, Services PMI
8:45 a.m.: Italy May Composite, Services PMI
8:50 a.m.: France May Composite, Services PMI
8:55 a.m.: Germany May Unemployment, Composite, Services PMI
9:00 a.m.: Euro-Area May Composite, Services PMI
9:00 a.m.: Italy April Unemployment
9:30 a.m.: U.K. May Composite, Services PMI
10:00 a.m.: Euro-Area April Unemployment, PPI

Corporate Events

Earnings include Lukoil, Wizz Air
Alphabet annual meeting

Corporate Highlights

Tiffany closed 8.9% lower after WWD reported LVMH’s board called a meeting last night to discuss its $16 billion takeover bid amid unrest in the U.S. and the jewelry company’s ability to cover all of its debt covenants.
Zoom Video keeping zooming, showing that a surge in demand for its video-conference service translated into more paying customers. Revenue soared to $328.2 million, beating the $203 million consensus