US equity markets closed lower on Tuesday as weak Q1 earnings data hurt investor sentiment.
Accendo Markets Analyst, Mike van Dulken commented – “A surprising miss from major component Goldman Sachs saw the Dow Jones underperform to close over 100 points lower, while a miss for Johnson & Johnson also hurt the index. The S&P500 fared a little better, down 0.3% as Healthcare names proved to be the biggest laggard, while the Tech-focused Nasdaq outperformed, albeit still closing lower by 0.1%, as Yahoo!’s final earnings report showed a 22% revenue jump.”
Investors saw a surge in volatility yesterday when the UK Prime Minister Theresa May surprised everyone with a call for snap elections on 8 June.
ADS Securities Analyst, Konstantinos Anthis noted – “Sterling immediately rallied on the back of the announcement as traders seem to believe that a victory for the Conservative party is not only almost certain but it will also give PM May the opportunity to negotiate Brexit the way she sees fit. Investors pushed the Pound to 1.2900 with the next level being the 1.3000 figure.”
In focus today will be UK parliamentary vote on the proposed snap general election on 8 June. Theresa May’s government needs two thirds of MPs to approve a second general election in only three years, and with the opposition Labour party announcing that they will back the government’s proposal, it will likely be confirmed after Prime Minister’s Questions at midday.
Data-wise, the focus will be on Europe with the notable release of the final reading of March Eurozone Consumer Price Inflation (CPI).
Konstantinos Anthis added – “The Eurozone inflation figures could allow the Single currency to push even higher; the Euro has gained on the back of the recent Dollar weakness and has climbed above 1.0700. A positive i reading could ease ECB’s concerns on whether the recent uptick in inflation will hold.”
As the US Q1 earnings season continues, Dow Jones component American Express, online auctioneer eBay and banking stalwart Morgan Stanley are all reporting first quarter figures.
Mike van Dulken added – “The latter will be hoping to avoid a repeat of peer Goldman Sachs’ surprising earnings miss yesterday.”
