Stocks Mixed As Traders Wait For PMI Reports

Euro Area PMI Reports Exceeded Analyst Expectations

S&P 500 futures are swinging between gains and losses in premarket trading as traders wait for U.S. PMI reports which will be released shortly after the market open.

Analysts expect that Manufacturing PMI declined from 62.1 in May to 61.5 in June. Services PMI is projected to decline from 70.4 in May to 70 in June.

In Euro Area, flash readings of PMI reports for June exceeded analyst expectations. Manufacturing PMI remained unchanged at 63.1 while analysts expected that it would decline to 62.1. Services PMI increased from 55.2 in May to 58 in June compared to analyst consensus of 57.8.

Better-than-expected PMI reports may push U.S. stocks closer to all-time high levels, although Fed remains the main catalyst for markets. Yesterday, Jerome Powell reiterated his dovish message, which provided additional support to stocks.

Hong Kong’s Pro-Democracy Apple Daily Newspaper Will Shut Down

Apple Daily has recently stated that its last print edition would be published on Thursday as the newspaper has to shut down after authorities have frozen its assets under the national security law. Newspaper’s owner, Jimmy Lai, is in jail.

Chinese stocks and China-related ETFs have been losing ground in June as Chinese authorities showed their desire to put pressure on various companies from big Chinese tech firms to Bitcoin miners.

The recent crackdown on crypto mining has even pushed Bitcoin below the $30,000 level, although the world’s leading cryptocurrency has recently managed to rebound.

Most likely, the closure of Apple Daily will further hurt sentiment towards Chinese stocks. It remains to be seen whether current crackdown will push investors to take some funds out of Hong Kong, but it’s surely a viable scenario. In this case, developed stock markets in U.S. and EU will likely enjoy an influx of new funds from Asian investors.

WTI Oil Moves Towards The $74 Level As Crude Inventories Decline

API Crude Oil Stock Change report indicated that crude inventories decreased by 7.2 million barrels compared to analyst consensus which called for a decline of 3.6 million barrels. The report served as an additional bullish catalyst for oil and pushed it closer to multi-month highs.

Today, traders will focus on EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report. If EIA data confirms that inventories are declining at a fast pace, WTI oil will have a good chance to move closer to the $75 level which will be bullish for oil-related stocks.

For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar.