Wall Street stocks closed on a mixed note overnight as several states have begun resuming regular business activity. On the other hand, a surge of new coronavirus infections in Germany and South Korea are suggesting that early efforts to lift restrictions could be premature, which makes investors worried. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 0.45%, the Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 0.78%, while the broad-based S&P 500 ended essentially flat.
In Asia, stocks slipped on Tuesday, as Chinese inflation data for April missed expectations. The consumer price index rose 3.3% year-on-year versus expectations of a 3.7% increase, while the producer price index declined 3.1% year-on-year, as compared to a 2.6% fall expected. Also, market participants expressed worries about a second wave of coronavirus infections. As a result, China’s Shanghai Composite was down 0.11%, the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia fell 1.07%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.48%, while in Japan, the Nikkei 225 declined 0.12%.
European stock markets opened in the negative territory but managed to rebound marginally afterward as data showed new coronavirus cases have slowed. Also, gains for communications and healthcare shares offset declines in other sectors. US stock index futures are trading lower so far.
The dollar, meanwhile, came under mild selling pressure against the majors on Tuesday. Still, the euro struggles to stage a decent recovery and remains around the 1.08 handle. GBPUSD is flat below the 50-DMA, threatening the 1.23 level further. USDJPY is stuck between the 200- and 20-DMAs, showing a minor bearish bias on the daily timeframes.
Elsewhere, crude oil prices have settled around the $30 psychological level today after a rejection from above $31 on Monday. The market is marginally supported by the news that Saudi Arabia would cut production by an extra 1 million barrels per day in June. Nevertheless, as long as the prices remain below the mentioned handle, downside risks continue to persist.
