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• US financial markets were closed on Monday for the observance of the Memorial Day holiday.
• German consumer prices in May were up by 8.7% on a year earlier (survey: +8%) – the highest growth in almost 50 years.
• European sharemarkets advanced on Monday. Investors were encouraged by an easing of Covid restrictions in China as well as new stimulus being unveiled by Chinese authorities. Luxury good manufacturers posted solid gains with Louis-Vuitton owner LVMH, Hermes, Pernod Ricard and Burberry up by between 0.6% and 4.4%. While gains were broad-based on European exchanges, technology stocks led gains, up by 2%, but telecom fell 0.6%. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose by 0.6%. The German Dax index lifted by 0.8% and the UK FTSE index gained 0.2%. In London trade, shares in Rio Tinto rose by 0.6% while BHP shares rose by 1.5%.
• US sharemarkets were closed on Monday. Last Friday, the Dow Jones index closed higher by 576 points or 1.8%. The S&P 500 index rose by 2.5%. And the Nasdaq index gained 390 points or 3.3%. Over the week the Dow rose 6.2% and the S&P 500 rose 6.6% – both posting the biggest gains since November 2020. And the Nasdaq gained 6.8%.
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• The US government bond market was closed on Monday. On Friday, US 10-year yields fell by around 1 point to near 2.74%. And US 2-year yields fell 1 point to near 2.48%.
• Major currencies were mixed against the US dollar in European and US trade. The Euro rose from lows near US$1.0740 to highs near US$1.0785 and was near US$1.0780 at the US close. The Aussie dollar firmed from lows near US71.72 cents to highs near US72.00 cents and was near US71.95 cents at the US close. But the Japanese yen eased from 127.00 yen per US dollar to JPY127.80 and was near JPY127.50 at the US close.
• Global oil prices rose on Monday by just under 2%. Reuters noted “China eased COVID-19 restrictions and traders priced in expectations that the European Union (EU) will eventually reach an agreement to ban Russian oil imports.” Shanghai will allow people to leave their homes and drive their cars from Wednesday. The EU is holding a meeting over Monday and Tuesday to discuss a sixth package of sanctions against Russia. The Brent crude price rose by US$2.24 or 1.9% to US$121.67 a barrel. And the US Nymex crude price rose by US$2.10 or 1.8% in after hours trade to US$117.17 a barrel.
• Base metal prices rose by as much as 3.5% on Monday with nickel up the most.
• Spot gold was trading near US$1,856 an ounce, up by US$3 an ounce from late US trade on Friday. The iron ore futures price rose by 19 cents or 0.1% to US$133.60 a tonne. Ahead: In Australia, business indicators, building approvals, private sector credit, government finance and balance of payments are all released. In China the ‘official’ purchasing managers indexes are released. In the US, home prices and consumer confidence data are released.
Originally Published by CommSec
