US stocks snapped a three-day winning streak and declined overnight after weekly jobless-claims data came in higher than expected. Filings for unemployment benefits hit 1.3 million in the week that ended on Saturday. Since the coronavirus pandemic slammed the US economy, more than 51 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits.
In separate stocks, tech giants led the losses yesterday, with Apple and Microsoft dipped 1.23% and 1.98%, respectively. As a result, the S&P 500 declined 0.34%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.7%.
Asian stocks were mostly positive o Friday. The Shanghai Composite Index in China added 0.13%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.5%, the Kospi in Seoul gained 0.8% and Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.4% while Nikkei 225 in Japan lost 0.32%.
In Europe, stocks are mixed-to-positive ahead of the EU leaders summit later today. The tone in the markets has deteriorated a bit after German Chancellor Angela Merkel raised doubts about sealing a 750 billion-euro accord at a summit in Brussels. On the positive side, Eurozone May construction output jumped by +27.9% versus -14.6% m/m prior while June final CPI came in at +0.3%, in line with the preliminary estimate.
Fairly upbeat data coupled with a weaker dollar send the euro higher on Friday. The pair has settled above the 1.14 again but remains vulnerable while the upside bias looks unsustainable. The market focus now is on the recovery fund negotiations that will affect further dynamics in the pair.
Elsewhere, bitcoin is licking its wounds after the recent plunge. BTCUSD has settled marginally above the $9,100 area, staying stuck between the 50- and 100-DMAs. The fact that the digital currency manages to hold above the $9,000 level yesterday may signal a limited selling pressure and bitcoin’s readiness to stage a decent recovery after some consolidation.