Hey there! Let’s dive into what’s happening in the European and global markets. Ankur Banerjee here to give you the lowdown:
Looks like we’re in for a showdown between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, but not inside a cage this time. Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) is gearing up to release Threads, a microblogging app that aims to challenge Musk. This news comes hot on the heels of Twitter’s announcement that they’re temporarily limiting the number of posts users can read on their platform.
Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, and Musk, the mastermind behind Facebook’s parent company, have been teasing each other with jabs, albeit online, as they’ve playfully bantered about a mixed martial arts cage match in Las Vegas.
Shifting gears from Silicon Valley, the markets are taking it easy today with a light data calendar and a U.S. holiday on the horizon. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares, excluding Japan, has seen a slight uptick. The dollar stands strong, and oil prices remain steady.
Over in Asia, investors are keeping a close eye on the possibility of yen intervention, a question that continues to loom and may affect markets this week. The Japanese currency is hovering around the crucial threshold of 145 yen per dollar, and though it briefly breached this line on Friday, Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki promptly issued a stern warning. The yen has since stayed below 145, but it remains dangerously close, causing some nervousness in the markets.
On Tuesday, Japan’s top financial diplomat, Masato Kanda, stated that authorities are maintaining close communication with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and other overseas officials, discussing currency matters on an almost daily basis.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has chosen to maintain interest rates unchanged following last week’s data, which revealed a slowdown in consumer inflation, hitting a 13-month low in May. In response to the policy decision to keep the cash rate at 4.1%, the Aussie dollar dipped by 0.3%.
Economists, who were surveyed by Reuters prior to the RBA meeting, were divided on their predictions. Out of the 31 economists, 16 expected a rate hike, while the remainder anticipated the bank would maintain the status quo.
Ever since the surprising pause in April, followed by rate hikes in May and June, economists have been in a constant debate about the RBA’s next move.
Here are some key developments that could shape the market on Tuesday:
- U.S. markets will be closed for Independence Day.
- Keep an eye out for German import and export data for May.
There you have it! Stay tuned for more market updates, folks.
