The Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced a 50 basis points rate hike
US stocks were mostly lower on Tuesday amid a slump in several big companies. Weak US housing sales data added to a downbeat tone in the markets. Leading the losses, Snap stocks plummeted 43% after the company warned about a miss on earnings and revenue targets in the current quarter and. Against this backdrop, Meta Platforms fell 7.6% while Alphabet shed nearly 5%. The S&P 500 gave up 0.8% and the Nasdaq fell 2.3%. Bucking the trend, the Dow Jones added 0.2% due to gains for McDonald’s, Verizon and IBM.
In Asia, equities were mixed, mostly shrugging off weakness on Wall Street. The Shanghai Composite Index advanced 1.19% while the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo shed 0.26%. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong reversed early losses to gain 0.58% and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 gained 0.37%. New Zealand stocks declined after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced a 50 basis points rate hike.
European stock markets opened higher on Wednesday as investor sentiment kept improving during the day after a widespread retreat in the previous trading session. The pan-European Stoxx 600 added 0.6% in early trade. On the data front, German GDP grew 0.2% in the first quarter, narrowly avoiding a recession. Elsewhere, ECB’s Rehn said that the central bank will revise lower economic projections next month.
In currencies, the dollar holds steady today, clinging to the 102.00 mark that turned back into support after yesterday’s plunge to a one-month low of 101.65. Later today, the Federal Reserve releases minutes of its latest policy meeting that could help lift the buck further if the central bank expresses a hawkish tone. Otherwise, another retreat in USD bulls could be expected. EURUSD is off local highs on Wednesday, challenging the 1.0670 zone after failure to hold above 1.0700.
