United States
Equities mostly weakened Monday in quiet trading as the market gave back some of last week's strong gains ahead of what will be a disastrous corporate earnings season. The Dow industrials fell 1.4 percent and the S&P 500 declined 1.0 percent. The NASDAQ managed to rise 0.5 percent, with support from a rally in Netflix.
Real estate, banks, and financials lagged, with credit cards faring worst as credit concerns rise as earnings season begins. Industrials suffered, with machinery and airlines weak. Materials also lagged. Best performers included consumer discretionary, powered by gains in Amazon. Energy outperformed, led by refiners. Communications services were ahead, with support from Netflix, which rose 7 percent after a positive mention in Barron's given its strong position in the video streaming market.
In company news, JP Morgan fell 4.4 percent after saying it would tighten mortgage lending standards to limit its risk amid a weakening housing market. Walt Disney fell 1.0 percent amid reports its executive, Robert Iger, was planning measures to keep the company afloat given the COVID-19 hit to business. Boeing, the beleaguered aircraft company, fell 2.9 percent amid reports it is planning to issue huge new debt. Ford fell 4 percent after issuing an earnings warning given a sales drop due to the virus effect.
On the positive side, Amazon rose 6 percent on news it would soon allow third-party sellers on its platform to ship non-essential products. Apple rose 2.0 percent amid reports it will launch several 5G phones in the fall. Gilead, the pharma, rose 2.4 percent on news pointing to positive but inconclusive results so far in clinical tests of its proposed COVID-19 treatment.
These data reflect observations at 4:00 PM US ET: Dated Brent spot crude oil rose by 54 cents to US$32.02, while gold rose US$12.60 to US$1,765.40. The US dollar was mixed against most major currencies. The US Treasury 30-year bond yield rose 4 basis points to 1.39 percent while the 10-year note yield rose 3 basis points to 0.76 percent.
Asia Pacific
Major Asian markets closed lower Monday as global oil prices moved higher after OPEC and its partners agreed over the weekend to cut production significantly over the next two years. Japan's Nikkei and Topix indices fell 2.3 percent and 1.7 percent respectively, while the Shanghai Composite index closed down 0.5 percent ahead of key data scheduled for publication later in the week. Markets were closed in Australia and Hong Kong.
India's consumer price index rose 5.91 percent on the year in March, down from 6.58 percent in February. Concerns in part about the deflationary impact of the virus prompted the Reserve Bank of India in March to cut its main policy rate by 75 basis points from 5.15 percent to 4.40 percent, its lowest level since 2010.
Looking ahead*
On Tuesday in Asia/Pacific, Indian wholesale prices are is due. In the US, import & export price figures are on tap.