by TYLER DURDEN at zerohedge.com/
Global markets have kicked off the new quarter with solid gains from Asia to Europe (as previewed last week in “The Technical Overhang Is Done, July Starts With A Bullish Eruption“) while US equity futures were in the green, with sentiment getting a boost thanks to Tesla and BYD climbing on record quarterly sales. Oil rallied as Saudi Arabia and Russia extended oil supply cuts. At 7:45am ET, S&P emini futures were flat, reversing an earlier rally, with trading activity subdued by today’s half-day schedule ahead of the upcoming July 4 holiday; Nasdaq futures rose 0.2% on the back of strength from TSLA and Ai stocks; the tech is green fresh off its best-ever first half of a year. Asian stocks were broadly higher, boosted by China markets, while Europe’s Stoxx 50 Index climbed 0.4% to highest intraday level since Dec. 2007, as energy stocks outperform. Treasury yields are ticking higher at the short end of the curve, and edging lower at the longer end, pushing the 2s10s inversion to a whopping 110bps. The Bloomberg dollar index strengthened slightly. Gold prices are sliding, while oil has erased early losses to climb higher. Iron ore prices have dropped substantially today, continuing a volatile few weeks.
In premarket trading, Tesla gained 6.5% while BYD climbed in Hong Kong trading, leading shares of battery suppliers also higher. Shares of electric-vehicle makers jumped in sympathy: Rivian +2.1% and Lucid +1.7%. Cryptocurrency-exposed stocks also rose in premarket trading as Bitcoin hovers above the closely watched $30,000 level for a twelfth consecutive session. Riot Platforms +0.8% (RIOT US), Marathon Digital (MARA US) +1.6%. Here are some other premarket movers:
- Fidelity National Information Services (FIS US) gains 2.5% in US premarket trading as the Financial Times reports that private equity firms, including Advent, are considering buying its majority stake in Worldpay at a valuation exceeding $15 billion. Analysts see the interest as positive for the share price of FIS.
- Shares in air taxi companies are poised to extend gains after Joby Aviation posted its best weekly climb ever as it received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to test its electric-powered flying taxis. Joby Aviation (JOBY US) rises as much as 4.8%.
Investors are tempering expectations for stocks after an unexpectedly strong first half. While central banks have kept up their hawkish rhetoric, signs of moderating US inflation has fueled big gains across technology shares. Traders are looking to the upcoming earnings season and data such as Friday’s nonfarm payrolls for clues on the health of the economy. Markets in the US may be quieter ahead of the Independence Day holiday on Tuesday
Adding to bullish sentiment, crude prices reversed earlier losses to jump after Saudi Arabia’s state-run news agency said the country will prolong its unilateral oil production cut by one month, keeping a lid on supply even as the market is expected to tighten. Its OPEC+ ally Russia also announced fresh curbs on exports.