Financial Markets Daily Report 18 July 2023
Investors started the week trading with a more subdued tone, with sentiment soured by data showing a slowdown in China in Q2 and by lingering inflationary concerns on the back of upside tensions in some agricultural prices.
- Investors started the week trading with a more subdued tone, with sentiment soured by data showing a slowdown in China in Q2 and by lingering inflationary concerns on the back of upside tensions in some agricultural prices.
- In particular, wheat prices rose notably after Russia announced the grain-export pact with Ukraine expired on Monday. By contrast, oil prices ticked down on the back of the disappointing Chinese GDP data and the production restart at Sharara, one of Libya’s biggest oil fields.
- Equity prices declined across Europe and Asia but closed with modest gains in the US, in the latter led by gains in financial and technological shares ahead of the release of a new batch of earnings reports this week. Sovereign bond yields ticked down while the USD depreciated modestly against its peers, trading above 1.12 versus the EUR.
- Today, the focus turns to the US monthly indicators for June, including retail sales and industrial production.