US equities retreat deepened - 5.24

Dollar weakened on soft housing and manufacturing data

US stock market retreat deepened on Thursday as hopes for near term resolution of US-China tariff dispute dimmed. The S&P 500 fell 1.2% to 2822.24. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 1.1% to 25490.47. Nasdaq composite index dropped 1.6% to 7628.28. The dollar weakened on Markit reports its flash readings of U.S. manufacturing and services indexes declined in May, while new home sales declined 6.9% in April. The live dollar index data show the ICE US Dollar index, a measure of the dollar’s strength against a basket of six rival currencies, fell 0.3% to 97.846 and is lower currently. Futures on US stock indexes point to lower openings today.

CAC 40 underperforms European indexes

European stocks pullback turned into tumble on Thursday. EUR/USD turned higher while GBP/USD ended flat with both pairs rising currently. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 1.4% led by auto maker shares. Germany’s DAX 30 dropped 1.78% to 11952.41. France’s CAC 40 slumped 1.8% and UK’s FTSE 100 lost 1.4% to 7231.34 as Prime Minister May unveiled a “new” Brexit deal widely expected to be rejected by the U.K.’s Parliament.

Hang Seng leads Asian indexes gains

Asian stock indices are mixed after a sell off on Wall Street overnight. Nikkei slipped 0.2% to 21117.22 as yen continued climbing against the dollar. Chinese shares are higher after President Trump said Thursday the US could ease up on its ban against Huawei as “some part” of a wider trade deal with China: the Shanghai Composite Index is up 0.02% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is 0.5% higher. Australia’s All Ordinaries Index extended losses 0.6% with Australian dollar little changed against the greenback.

Brent extending losses

Brent futures prices are edging lower today. Prices sank yesterday: July Brent crude dropped 4.6% to $67.76 a barrel on Thursday.