With the US closed for Memorial Day, the last day of trading in May for everyone else has been listless. Overseas markets are mixed with the Nikkei down 1.0%, the Dax down 0.2%, the FTSE flat and the Hang Seng up 0.1%. Commodities are showing some strength with WTI crude oil up 1.0% ahead of tomorrow’s OPEC meeting, natural gas up 1.1%, and copper up 0.3%. Gold is steady just above $1,900/oz while Bitcoin is bouncing back a bit with a 2.0% gain on the day trading just below $37,000.
It’s a big week for economic news from around the world starting with manufacturing and service PMI reports tomorrow and Thursday. Over the weekend, China reported strong non-manufacturing PMI for May (55.2 vs street 52.7) and steady manufacturing PMI (51.0 vs street 51.1). US Chicago PMI released last Friday, often seen as a preview of the national number, was scorching hot (75.2 vs street 68.0).
Later in the week, focus turns to employment with US ADP payrolls out on Thursday due to today’s holiday, and nonfarm payrolls plus Canadian employment on Friday. For the US, investors may be looking for signs of whether employment growth is accelerating or moderating, while for Canada, investors may be looking for indications of how much of an impact the recent round of lockdowns has had on the economy.
Other economic reports of note this week include Canadian and Australian GDP, plus US construction spending on Tuesday, and the US Beige Book regional economic report on Wednesday. Its a relatively light week for earnings this week. Bank of Nova Scotia wraps up Canadian bank earnings on Tuesday, while Lululemon pretty much wraps up retailer earnings on Thursday. One of the potentially more interesting reports of the week may be Zoom Communications on Tuesday which may indicate how well stay-at-home stocks are faring against tougher year-over-year hurdles and whether their growth momentum is continuing or slowing.
