Stock Market Update

The S&P 500 futures currently trade 20 points below fair value. 

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region had mixed showing on Tuesday with South Korea's Kospi (-3.3%) deepening its retreat from a record amid concerns about a potential employee strike at Samsung. Japanese debt slid to fresh lows for the year ahead of tomorrow's 20-yr JGB auction. Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan is expected to meet with JGB investors on Thursday and Friday. Reserve Bank of Australia's chief economist warned that inflation risks are drifting higher.

• In economic data:
  • Japan's Q1 GDP 0.5% qtr/qtr (expected 0.4%; prior 0.2%); 2.1% yr/yr (expected 1.7%; last 0.8%). Q1 GDP Price Index 3.4% yr/yr (expected 3.1%; prior 3.4%), GDP External Demand 0.3% qtr/qtr (expected 0.2%; prior 0.0%), GDP Capital Expenditure 0.3% qtr/qtr (expected 0.2% prior 1.4%), GDP Private Consumption 0.3% qtr/qtr (expected 0.2%; prior 0.0%). March Industrial Production -0.4% m/m (expected -0.5%; prior -2.0%) and Capacity Utilization -1.2% m/m (prior -0.1%). March Tertiary Industry Activity Index 16.5 (expected -0.4; prior -1.1)
  • Hong Kong's April Unemployment Rate 3.7% (prior 3.7%)
  • Australia's May Westpac Consumer Sentiment 3.5% (prior -12.5%)
  • New Zealand's Q1 Input PPI 1.4% (expected 0.8%; prior -0.5%) and Output PPI 0.8% qtr/qtr (expected 0.5%; last 0.1%). April Electronic Card Retail Sales -1.3% m/m (prior 0.7%); 2.0% yr/yr (last 2.7%)

---Equity Markets---

• Japan's Nikkei: -0.5%
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng: +0.5%
• China's Shanghai Composite: +0.9%
• India's Sensex: -0.2%
• South Korea's Kospi: -3.3%
• Australia's ASX All Ordinaries: +1.1%

Major European indices trade in the green. The EU's Economic Commissioner Dombrovskis said that G-7 has made progress on critical minerals. Elsewhere, Bank of England policymaker Breeden spoke about the potential benefits of tokenization. The EU is looking at ways to counter food inflation. The U.S. Treasury extended a temporary sanction waiver on Russian seaborne oil.

• In economic data:
  • Eurozone's March trade surplus EUR7.8 bln (expected EUR5.4 bln; prior EUR11.1 bln)
  • U.K.'s March three-month employment change 148,000 (expected 107,000; prior 25,000), March Unemployment Rate 5.0% (expected 4.9%; prior 4.9%), March Average Earnings Index + Bonus 4.1% (expected 3.8%; prior 3.9%), and April Claimant Count Change 26,500 (expected 23,100; prior 4,900). Q4 Labor Productivity -0.5% (prior -0.5%)

---Equity Markets---

• STOXX Europe 600: +0.8%
• Germany's DAX: +1.5%
• U.K.'s FTSE 100: +0.6%
• France's CAC 40: +0.8%
• Italy's FTSE MIB: +0.1%
• Spain's IBEX 35: +0.4%