News review - inflation, rate cuts in Europe, news from China, Japan, Australia, corporate news
• The ECB has signaled that it will cut interest rates from historic highs next week. Its chief economist, Philip Lane, reported this in an interview with the Financial Times. Investors expect the ECB to cut its benchmark deposit rate by a quarter of a percentage point from a record high of 4% at its June 6 meeting. This was preceded by a fall in eurozone inflation close to the bank's 2% target.
• The main focus of traders this week will be on inflation statistics in the US, Europe and Japan, which will be released on Friday.
• Traders suspect Japan sold about $60 billion to protect the yen in late April and early May, and data on Friday should reveal more details about the extent of dollar selling.
• Prices for corporate services in Japan rose in April at the fastest pace since early 2015, data showed on Tuesday, an encouraging sign of resilient inflation in Japan.
• Australian retail sales rose in April, another sign that meager household spending will add little to economic growth and could open the door to rate cuts.
• China is creating a $47.5 billion fund to support the semiconductor sector. According to Chinese media, President Xi Jinping emphasized the need for China to achieve self-sufficiency in semiconductors. That need has grown after the United States imposed a series of export controls over the past few years, citing concerns that Beijing could use advanced chips to boost its military capabilities.
• American startup Gravity from Google has developed a high-speed charger for electric vehicles, Deap Tree. It supports direct current up to 1000 volts. The most modern electric cars have power plants of only 800 volts.
With a power of 200 kW, you can replenish the range of an electric car by 320 km in just 13 minutes, and with 500 kW - in a record 5 minutes.
• Prices for shipping cargo are rising as businesses expect more attacks on ships in the Red Sea - FT.
• Brazil has overtaken Belgium as the largest export market for Chinese electric vehicles and hybrids. Reuters writes about this with reference to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
• Oil rose after falling last week. At the same time, the main attention was paid to the OPEC+ meeting on Sunday and demand in the United States at the beginning of the summer auto season.
• The T+1 settlement cycle for securities transactions made by US financial institutions goes into effect today (previously T+2). Clients of banks and brokers will receive money into their accounts 1 day faster. If you trade with us, you will not notice this, since the broker will already credit you with money instantly.
• Bank of Nova Scotia, Cava Group and Heico will report.
• The Conference Board releases its consumer confidence index for May. Expectations are 95.7, down slightly from April's 97 (the lowest since July 2022).
• S&P CoreLogic releases the Case-Shiller National Home Price Index for March. Home prices rose 6.4% year-on-year in February, the eighth straight month of annual growth.
• Hess (HES) shareholders will vote on the proposed acquisition of Chevron (CVX).