3 minutes ago
The French manufacturing sector is on the upswing
Manufacturing activity in France rose 0.7% in April after falling 1.1% in the previous month, official statistics showed. Total industrial activity increased by 0.8%
Production in February-April was also 1.6% higher than a year ago.
But France’s statistics agency Insee said energy-intensive industries continued to face higher production costs.
The numbers also showed the impact of strikes at French refineries, which peaked in March. Coke and refined oil production rose 23.6% in April after falling 45.2%.
Investors are also awaiting an S&P announcement on France’s credit rating on Friday, which could result in the country being downgraded from “AA”.
– Jennie Reid
28 minutes ago
Europe stocks open higher
European equity markets were upbeat early Friday, with the benchmark Stoxx 600 index up 0.4% as of 8:30am London time.
Most sectors posted gains, with mining stocks up 1.7% and oil & gas up 1%, while healthcare fell 0.4%.
France’s CAC 40 rose 0.74%, while Germany’s DAX and Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.64% and 0.5%, respectively.
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Stoxx 600 index.
Before an hour
European Markets: Here are the opening talks
European markets are likely to open higher on Friday, according to IG data.
UK FTSE 100 expected to open 20.7 points higher at 7,518; Germany’s DAX 91.5 points higher at 15,942; France’s CAC up 37.4 points to 7,169; and Italy’s MIB rose 115 points to 26,697.
– Jennie Reid
4 hours ago
The Senate passes a bill raising the debt ceiling, preventing a default
The Senate passed a bill raising the debt ceiling Thursday night and sent it to President Joe Biden.
He is expected to sign the law into law on Friday, preventing the US’s first national bankruptcy.
Passed by the House of Representatives, the compromise bill was passed by the Senate by a majority of 63 to 36 and garnered enough bipartisan support to clear the chamber’s 60-vote threshold and avoid a filibuster.
US stock futures were slightly higher before the vote and stayed at that level after the bill passed. Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 30 points.
— Christine Wang, Christina Wilkie
6 hours ago
Oil prices edge up slightly ahead of OPEC+ meeting
Oil prices traded slightly above the flatline as traders await an OPEC+ meeting this weekend.
Global benchmark Brent was down slightly on Friday, down 0.2% to $74.44 a barrel, while US grade West Texas Intermediate was down 0.24% to $70.27 a barrel.
“If [OPEC] “Never mind, we could really see a price selloff, we saw a selloff this week,” said Matt Smith, Kpler’s senior oil analyst.
Portal, citing Alliance sources, reported that the oil cartel is unlikely to escalate its output cuts at the forthcoming meeting.
Smith predicts Brent prices could fall to $70 a barrel if OPEC maintains the status quo.
“Oil prices fell sharply in May, with the WTI benchmark falling below $70/b,” HSBC wrote in a June 1 report. The bank noted the decline came even as previously announced OPEC+ production cuts went into effect later in the month.
Aside from the uncertainty surrounding the US debt ceiling standoff, China’s subdued growth indicators also weighed on prices, the report said.
– Lee Ying Shan
7 hours ago
CNBC Pro: This stock is a “key beneficiary” of Nvidia’s AI opportunity, says Morgan Stanley
Global artificial intelligence sales will reach $180 billion this year and grow to nearly $2 trillion by 2030 — and it will be a key driver of semiconductor sales, says Morgan Stanley.
Investors are already convinced of the enthusiasm for AI. Nvidia shares surged last week after the company reported better-than-expected earnings.
Morgan Stanley names one stock that will be a “key beneficiary of NVDA’s AI opportunities.”
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
– Wheat Tan
12 hours ago
Friday’s jobs data will “underscore” the Fed’s challenges, says one economist
Vanguard chief economist Joe Davis said data on nonfarm payrolls, the unemployment rate and hourly wages due Friday will highlight the challenges the Fed faces ahead of the June monetary policy meeting.
Economists polled by Dow Jones expected nonfarm payrolls to rise by 190,000 in May, a smaller monthly increase than the 253,000 jobs added in April. They are forecasting an unemployment rate of 3.5%, slightly higher than April’s 3.4%.
Hourly wages are expected to increase by 0.3% monthly and by 4.4% compared to the same month last year. In April, wages rose 0.48% m/m and 4.45% year-on-year.
“We believe tomorrow’s jobs report will underscore the challenges the Fed continues to face in getting inflation back on track,” Davis said. “We remain of the view that they should hike rates in June to reiterate their resolve before pausing for a while to gauge the impact on macroeconomic conditions, although the more important aspect of our outlook remains that the Fed will remain on hold until at least the end of the year.”
“Any hints of ongoing tightening in the labor market in tomorrow’s report would further support these views,” he added.
— Alex Harring