US stocks fluctuated today following stronger-than-expected US PMI data, underscoring the resilience of the world’s largest economy. The S&P Global US Composite PMI rose to 54.6 in June, the highest level since April 2022. Following this data release, the 10-year US Treasury yield jumped to 4.27%, while the dollar index approached 105.9. In contrast, the private sector faced challenges in other areas, with UK services and Eurozone manufacturing indices both declining, resulting in June readings of 51.7 and 50.8, respectively. UK business activity expansion was the weakest since November last year. The Eurozone saw new orders decrease for the first time in four months, leading to softer expansions in business activity and employment, while business confidence dropped to its lowest level since February.
After two days of modest gains, the LME space recorded declines across the board. Aluminium softened to $2,514/t, while copper lost all the gains from the last two days, trading at $9,676.5/t. Nickel fell to $17,220/t, its lowest level since early March. Lead and zinc also posted declines, with lead trading at $2,193/t and zinc at $2,841/t.
Precious metals gave back all of yesterday’s gains as strong US PMIs made the likelihood of the first Fed interest rate cuts less probable in the near term. Gold traded at $2,328.3/oz, while silver decreased to $29.6/oz. Oil remained mostly unchanged, with WTI at $81.25/bbl and Brent crude at $85.7/bbl.
All price data is from 21.06.2024 as of 17:30