US stocks ended slightly higher on Tuesday after slumping in the first trading day of 2016 in a global rout sparked by continued contraction in China’s manufacturing sector. The dollar strengthened supported by concerns about slowdown in China’s growth. According to live dollar index data, the ICE US dollar index, a measure of the dollar’s strength against a basket of six rival currencies, rose 0.5% to 99.396. The S&P 500 closed 0.2% higher, led by telecoms and utility stocks. Oil companies were the biggest decliners. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose less than 0.1%. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.2%. Apple (O:AAPL) fell 2.5% on news the iPhone maker was expected to cut production of its 6S and 6S Plus models. Shares of Ford (N:F) and General Motors (N:GM) fell 1.8% and 2.6% respectively as US December auto sales came in lower than expected. US stock index futures are falling presently. Today at 13:00 CET Mortgage Applications will be released in US. At 14:15 CET December non-farm employment change will be published by ADP. At 14:30 CET November Trade Balance will be released. And at 16:00 CET Institute for Supply Management Non-Manufacturing PMI for December, as well as November Factory Orders will be released. While the ISM PMI is expected to rise, the factory orders are expected to fall. At 20:00 CET minutes from December 15-16 FOMC meeting will be published.
European stocks rebounded on Tuesday supported by a rally in mining and telecoms stocks. The euro hit the lowest against the dollar in a month, trading at $1.0746 late Tuesday in New York compared with $1.0826 late Monday as lower-than-expected 0.2% eurozone inflation in December gave rise to expectations of more stimulus measures by the European Central Bank. The Stoxx Europe 600 index ended 0.6% higher in a choppy session. Germany’s DAX 30 rose 0.3% to 10,310.10 after the biggest daily slide in four months on Monday, and France’s CAC 40 lost 0.3%. Volkswagen (DE:VOWG_p) sank 4% on news the US Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the German car maker for up to $90 billion, alleging it installed illegal emissions defeat devices in nearly 600,000 diesel-engine vehicles. Today from 09:45 – 10:00 CET final readings for December Services and Composite PMIs for France, Germany and eurozone will be released. The tentative outlook is neutral. At 10:30 CET December Services PMI will be published in UK. The tentative outlook is positive. And at 11:00 CET November Producer Price Index will be released in eurozone. The tentative outlook is negative.
Nikkei fell 1% today as yen strengthened against the dollar on increased safe-haven demand after the release of weak Services Purchasing Managers’ Index data in China reinforced concerns that China’s economy is slowing down. The Caixin Services PMI fell to 50.2 in December from 51.2 in November, showing a deceleration in China's services sector growth, which fell to its slowest rate in 17 months.
Oil futures prices are extending losses today after closing lower on Tuesday despite concerns about possible supply disruptions due to rising tensions between Saudi Arabia and lran over the Saudi execution of a Shi'ite cleric. Both February WTI and Brent crude prices fell 2.2% settling at $35.97 and $36.42 a barrel respectively on the New York Mercantile Exchange and London’s ICE Futures exchange. Today at 16:30 CET US Crude Oil Inventories will be released by Energy Information Administration. Analysts’ estimates point to a likely rise in crude oil stockpiles.