Today’s Big Picture Asia-Pacific equity markets were largely closed today due to the International Worker’s Day Holiday, the global equivalent of our Labor Day.Those indexes that did publish today include Japan’s Nikkei and Australia’s ASX All Ordinaries, which gained 0.92% and 0.31%, respectively.European markets are also closed today marking International Worker’s Day, or “May Day” as it is known, except for OMX Copenhagen, which is up 0.43% in midday trading, and U.S.futures point to a flat to down open.
This morning brings a fresh look at the U.S.manufacturing economy with dueling reporting from S&P Global and the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).S&P will publish its findings at 9:45 AM ET, and the headline figure is expected to inch lower to 48 from 48.6 the prior month, suggesting that part of the economy continued to contract.For context, a reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a print below 50 contraction.
Soon after, ISM’s April Manufacturing PMI Index will be out at 10 AM ET, and the consensus thinking is it will improve to 46.8 from 46.3 the prior month.
As important as the collective headline data will be, ahead of the Fed’s monetary policy meeting that concludes this coming Wednesday afternoon, new order data, inflation, and job market comments will be of equal if not greater importance.
As such, what’s revealed in those two PMI reports is likely to not only set the tone for the first day of trading in May but possibly its first week as well.
Data Download International Economy
The au Jibun Bank Japan Manufacturing PMI held at a six-month high of 49.5 in April, matching a preliminary reading, and after a final 49.2 in March.Japan’s Consumer Confidence rose to 35.4 in April vs.33.9 the prior month and better than the expected reading of 32.
China’s official NBS Manufacturing PMI unexpectedly fell to a four-month low of 49.2 in April from 51.9 in March, missing market estimates of 51.4.The latest print pointed to the first contraction in factory activity since last December, amid weak global demand.New orders (48.8 vs 53.6) and buying activity (49.1 vs 53.5) shrank after rising in the prior three months.At the same time, export sales fell for the first time since January (47.6 vs 50.4).China’s NBS Non-Manufacturing PMI for China slipped to 56.4 in April from March’s near 12-year high of 58.2, marking the fourth straight month of expansion in services activity as the country continued to emerge from covid restrictions.
Domestic Economy
In addition to the economic data discussed above, March Construction Spending will be reported at 10 AM ET and is expected to rise 0.1% MoM.We expect investors will be parsing the report to measure the impact of infrastructure spending on nonresidential construction spend.
Following a surge in tax revenue recorded by the Treasury Department last week, it appears the Treasury will be able to cover the government’s obligations at least until the second half of July, offering a modest extension for current debt ceiling conversations.
California became the world’s first jurisdiction to regulate the end of the sales of traditional combustion trucks by 2036, creating a path to 100% zero emission medium heavy-duty trucks on the roads in California by 2045.
Markets
It seems like traders had more gas in the tank on Friday after a very strong Thursday.
The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.69%, the Dow and S&P 500 rose 0.80% and 0.83%, respectively, and the Russell 2000 closed 1.01% higher.Sectors told a similar risk-off story as Utilities (-0.14%) was the only sector to lose ground.Energy (1.55%) posted the highest returns while Financials, Materials, and Real Estate all posted gains between 1.15% and 1.19%.While all other sectors gained, there was some relative weakness in Consumer Discretionary as Amazon ( AMZN ) singlehandedly overpowered what otherwise would have been a relatively strong day in the sector.Amazon shares gave back some recent gains, dropping 3.98% on a disappointing cloud outlook and notification of layoffs in the Prime Video segment.
Here’s how the major market indicators stack up year-to-date:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 2.87% S&P 500: 8.59% Nasdaq Composite: 16.82% Russell 2000: 0.44% Bitcoin (BTC-USD): 76.79% Ether (ETH-USD): 58.06% Stocks to Watch Before U.S.
equity markets begin trading today, Check Point Software ( CHKP ), Global Payments ( GPN ), and On Semiconductor ( ON ) are expected to report their quarterly results.
Regulators have taken possession of First Republic Bank ( FRC ) , resulting in the third failure of an American regional since March.The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has been appointed as receiver and accepted a bid from JPMorgan ( JPM ) to assume all deposits, including all uninsured deposits, and substantially all assets of First Republic Bank.
Chinese EV company Nio ( NIO ) delivered 6,658 vehicles in April, an increase of 31.2% YoY, bringing its year-to-date deliveries to 327,255 vehicles.Competitor Xpeng ( XPEV ) delivered 7,079 Smart EVs during the month while Li Auto ( LI ) delivered 25,681 vehicles in April, setting another monthly record and exceeding the 20,000 vehicle delivery mark for the second consecutive month.
IPOs
Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) will spin off Kenvue, its consumer health unit, in a new IPO expected to start trading on May 5.
Chip designer Arm (ARMHF) said it confidentially submitted a draft registration statement with U.S.Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering.
Readers looking to dig more into the upcoming IPO calendar should visit Nasdaq’s Latest & Upcoming IPOs page .
After Today’s Market Close
Avis Budget (CAR), CF Industries (CF), Hologic (HOLX), Kennametal (KMT), Logitech International (LOGI), NXP Semiconductor (NXPI), and Terex (TEX) are slated to report their quarterly results after equities stop trading.
Those looking for more on which companies are reporting when should head on over to Nasdaq’s Earnings Calendar .
On the Horizon Tuesday, May 2
Japan: Nikkei Manufacturing PMI – April China: Caixin Manufacturing PMI – April Eurozone: S&P Global Manufacturing PMI, Consumer Price Index – April Germany: Retail Sales – March UK: Manufacturing PMI – April US: Factory Orders – March US: JOLTS Job Openings – March Wednesday, May 3
UK: Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin US: Weekly MBA Mortgage Applications US: ADP Employment Change Report – March US: S&P Global Final Services PMI – April US: ISM Non-Manufacturing Index – April US: Weekly EIA Crude Oil Inventories US: FOMC Rate Decision – 2 PM ET Thursday, May 4
Eurozone: S&P Global Services PMI – April UK: Bank of England Consumer Credit – March UK: Services PMI – April Eurozone: Producer Price Index – March Eurozone: European Central Bank Rate Decision US: Weekly Initial & Continuing Jobless Claims US: Challenger Job Cuts – April US: Productivity & Unit Labor Cost – 1Q 2023 US: Weekly EIA Natural Gas Inventories Friday, May 5
China: Caixin Services PMI – April Eurozone: Retail Sales – March US: Employment Report – March US: Consumer Credit – March Thought for the Day “The unexamined life is not worth living” – Socrates
Disclosures Check Point Software (CHKP) is a constituent of the Foxberry Tematica Research Cybersecurity & Data Privacy Index Li Auto (LI) , Nio (NIO), Xpeng (XPEV) are constituents of the Tematica BITA Cleaner Living Sustainability Screened Index The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc..