Trade tensions keep pressure on Wall Street
The underlying threat of additional tariffs on Chinese goods kept US indices under pressure on Friday, despite an in-line nonfarm payroll report for July. Hong Kong protests continue, with protesters threatening to shutdown the city with a one day strike today. Another oil tanker is seized in the Straits of Hormuz, lifting oil prices.
US30USD Daily Chart
The US30 index fell for a fourth straight day Friday as the US jobs report came in as expected, though June’s numbers were revised lower by 31,000
The index fell to the lowest level since June 18, trading below the 100-day moving average at 26,274 for the first time since June 7
Today we see the services PMIs for July, with the final Markit reading seen unchanged at 52.2 while the ISM equivalent is expected to improve to 55.5 from 55.1 in June.
The Germany30 index slumped to the lowest level in nearly two months on Friday, echoing the gloomy sentiment in other regions
Friday’s low was very close to the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement of the rally from June 3 to July 3 at 11,836. The 200-day moving average is at 11,650
The final Markit services PMI readings for both Germany and the Euro-zone are seen unchanged at 55.4 and 53.3 respectively, according to the latest survey of economists.
The HongKong33 index posted the biggest one-day drop since May on Friday, tumbling to the lowest level since January 16 ahead of expected weekend anti-government protests. More weakness is expected today after riot police broke up protests in various areas using teargas yesterday
The 78.6% Fibonacci retracement of the January-April rally is at 26,021
Protest leaders are planning to paralyze many areas of Kong Kong today with a one-day strike. Many flights out of the Asian financial hub have already been cancelled.