How’dy USA

In US ISM manufacturing index fell from 49.1 to 41.5 in April (forecast 36.9). The 'final' reading for the Markit manufacturing index was 36.1 in April (prelim 36.9), down from 48.5 in March. Construction spending rose by 0.9% in March (forecast -3.5%).

US share markets fell on Friday. Investors fretted over reports that the US was threatening to lift tariffs against China. In response to earnings results, shares in Apple fell 1.6%, Amazon fell 7.6%, Chevron lost 2.8% and Exxon Mobil fell 7.2%. Shares in Tesla fell 10.3% after Chief Executive Elon Musk said in a tweet that the company's share price was "too high". The Dow Jones index fell by 622 points or 2.6%. The S&P500 index fell by 2.8% and the Nasdaq index lost 285 points or 3.2%. Over the week the Dow Jones and S&P 500 indexes fell by 0.2% and the Nasdaq lost 0.3%.

US treasury bond prices were mixed on Friday. Investors look ahead to next week's projection for U.S. borrowing in the second quarter and non-farm payrolls data. US 2-year yields were broadly steady near 0.20% and US 10-year yields fell 2 points to near 0.62%. Over the week US 2-year yields fell by 2 points and US 10- year yields rose by 1 point.

Bonjour Europe

European share markets fell on Friday although a number of markets were closed for May Day holidays. The pan-European STOXX 600 fell by 0.8%. The German Dax market was closed. The UK FTSE index fell by 2.3%. In London trade shares of Rio Tinto fell by 1.9% with shares in BHP down by 3.4%.

Hello World!

Major currencies were mixed against the US dollar in European and US trade. The Euro rose from US$1.0950 to near US$1.1015 and was around US$1.0985 at the US close of trade. The Aussie dollar fell from US64.65 cents to US64.10 cents, ending US trade near US64.20c. And the Japanese yen rose from JPY107.15 per US dollar to JPY106.60 and was near JPY106.95 at the US close.

Global oil prices ended mixed on Friday. Prices were supported by data showing that the number of oil rigs operating in the US fell to near 4-year lows. Also, the agreed OPEC+ production cuts of 9.7 million barrels per day started from Friday. The Brent crude price fell by 4 cents or 0.2% to US$26.44 a barrel. The US Nymex price rose by US94 cents or 5% to US$19.78 a barrel. Over the week Brent rose by 23% while Nymex rose by about 17%.

Base metal prices fell by between 0.4-2.0% on Friday with lead down the least and nickel down the most. Over the week tin, zinc and lead rose while other metals fell. Zinc rose 1.7%.

The gold futures price rose by US$26.30 an ounce or 1.6% to US$1,710.50 an ounce. Spot gold was near US$1,685 an ounce in late US trade. Over the week gold fell by US$13.00 or 0.8%. Iron ore was unchanged at US$83.95 a tonne on Friday. Over the week iron ore rose by just 5 cents.

G’day Australia

In Australia building approvals, job ads and the monthly inflation gauge are released. In the US the New York ISM index is released with factory orders.