American shares on Thursday rebounded from Wall Street’s longest losing stretch this year, after a narrowing of the U.S. trade gap offered hope the recovery might not be as weak as thought.
The government also reported a slight rise in those applying for unemployment benefits, with new claims up 1,000 to 427,000 last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 75.42 points at 12,124.36. The rise broke the index’s stretch of six consecutive down sessions. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 9.44 points to 1,289, while the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 9.49 points to 2,684.87.Crude-oil futures closed higher Thursday, as a surprise decision by key oil producers to keep production quotas unchanged and a bigger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventories fed concerns about tighter supplies, lifting prices to nearly $102 a barrel. Natural-gas futures, meanwhile, suffered their biggest single-session percentage decline in more than a month after a U.S. government showed supplies rose more than expected last week. Light, sweet crude for July delivery gained $1.19 to settle at $101.93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It touched a high of $102.44 earlier in the trading session.
On Wednesday, members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries could not reach a consensus on increasing production and kept official output targets unchanged. The outcome spurred a rally in oil prices Wednesday, sending prices roughly 2% higher. Separately on Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a 4.8 million-barrel decline in crude-oil inventories for the week ended June 3. Analysts had expected a fall of around 1.5 million barrels.
Today’s Important Economic Announcements (GMT)
8:30 AM GBP Manufacturing Production
11:00 AM CAD Employment Change
12:30 PM USD Import Prices
2:00 PM GBP NIESR GDP Estimate
6:00 PM USD Federal Budget Balance
Crude Oil
OPEC had failed to come to a consensus over the production targets for this year, raising concerns over a further rise in oil prices, which in turn would “adversely impact” global growth. In response to the failed OPEC talks, oil consuming nations have said that they might be forced to dip into the emergency stocks, though “even as Saudi Arabia failed to convince the other members to raise production, the biggest exporter is expected to raise its own supplies to help stabilize prices. We expect the bounce in oil prices to be short-lived.
Stop Loss: 102.46
Take Profit: 100.71
Natural Gas
Prices haven’t fallen by that much since May 5, when they sank 6.7%.The Energy Information Administration reported an increase of 80 billion cubic feet in the week ended June 3. Analysts had expected an increase between 74 and 78 billion cubic feet. To be sure, very hot temperatures in the Southeast and Northeast are forcing households and businesses to turn on their air conditioners more than they usually do during this time of year, but investors’ expectations got a little bit ahead of reality, and as such, prices are falling. Further weakness is likely in the next 24 hours.
Stop Loss: 4.79
Take Profit: 4.56
USD/JPY
Japan’s minister of industry warned Friday that the country’s economy would be “largely affected” unless some suspended nuclear power plants resumed operations, according to local media. Banri Kaieda, head of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, reportedly raised his concerns at a ministerial meeting after a regular Cabinet meeting. Being contained by 79.58 support, USD/JPY rebounded from 79.69, suggesting that a cycle bottom is being formed on 4-hour chart. Further rally would likely be seen later today, and target would be at the upper border of the price channel.
Stop Loss: 79.82
Take Profit: 80.45
Published by www.SolidityBrokers.com
