There was nothing in the list of flash PMI data released yesterday morning to make investors think that economic activity in Europe is doing fine. All numbers were in the red, they all missed expectations. German and French manufacturing plunged further in the contraction zone and German manufacturing PMI even plunged below 39, a number we have not seen since summer 2020, which was the heart of the pandemic. The war, the energy prices, and/or the European Central Bank (ECB) tightening are taking a toll on the German manufacturing. And even the German car sector is struggling. Tesla for example sold more cars in H1 than Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes and Porsche combined. Cherry on top of the bad news, the Spanish PPI showed an 8% contraction versus -10% penciled in by analysts. The EURUSD plunged below the 1.11, the trend and momentum indicators turned negative hinting that the selloff in the runoff to Thursday’s ECB meeting could extend toward the 1.10 mark, as the soft economic data brought forward the expectation that the ECB is certainly approaching the end the most aggressive tightening cycle of its relatively short history. But the softer-than-expected fall in Spanish PPI still keeps some hawks defending the idea that the ECB won’t stop fighting inflation if inflation doesn’t cool enough.
Don’t look now, but across the Channel, the PMI numbers didn’t look better. The UK manufacturing PMI fell to 45, while the composite PMI avoided the contraction territory by just a few points. Cable sold off to the lowest level in two weeks and is now testing the May to now ascending channel’s base, as traders put more weight on the damage that the rising Bank of England (BoE) rates will do to the British economy, than on the good they might do to sterling holders.
Across the Atlantic Ocean, the picture was a little but more mixed. US manufacturing remained in the contraction zone but contracted much slower than expected by analysts, but services and overall activity grew more slowly than expected, still. The US dollar index gained for the 5th consecutive session and is consolidating above the 101 level at the time of writing, as investors continue positioning for the Fed meeting that starts today.
The Fed starts its two-day policy meeting in just a couple of hours from now, and will highly likely announce a 25bp hike on Wednesday. But what Fed officials will also do is to remind investors that the tightening cycle is probably not over and that there will probably be another rate hike on the US’ horizon. So yes, there is a great chance that the Fed will spoil your mood if you are among those thinking that this week’s rate hike will be the last for this tightening cycle in the US.
Markets
US stocks traded higher yesterday with the S&P500 adding 0.40% and Nasdaq 0.14% after its special rebalancing. The US 2-year yield advanced past 4.90% and fell this morning. While the VIX index shows no sign of a particular stress from equity traders, BoFA’s MOVE index is close to 110 level, versus around the 60 level prior to the Q3 of 2021: bond traders remain very much uncertain about the number of additional rate hikes that the Fed could deliver. And there is no line in the sand, the Fed will continue hiking if the US jobs market, consumption and housing market remain resilient to interest rate hikes.
Microsoft earnings
Today, Microsoft is due to announce its Q2 earnings after the bell. Focus is on whether, and by how much Microsoft benefited from the AI craze and how much AI boosted growth for Azure – which was under pressure since a couple of quarters due to macro factors. On Friday, a Goldman Sachs analyst reiterated his buy rating for MSFT and revised his price target from $350 to $400 a share. But because there is too much optimism in the market, it may be gently time to take profit, wait for the next bullish wave and rotate toward where the next action is expected to happen.
The Magnificent Seven thrived so far this year and the un-magnificent 493 other stocks remained mostly on the sidelines. What we see these days is that the un-magnificent other stocks are also catching up with the rally. Today, 70% of the S&P 500 stocks trade above their 200-DMA. Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson said that ‘they were wrong’ regarding their bearish stock market expectation this year, while JP Morgan’s Kolanovic insists that a selloff is coming. And one day, he will be right!
