Coming off two days of gains, upward momentum in US markets appears to be slowing ahead of tomorrow’s Independence Day holiday. US index futures are trading flat to down slightly. US ADP private sector payrolls coming in below expectations (150K vs street 160K) has not been helping sentiment. In other employment related news, Challenger layoffs declined last month (48.7K vs previous 63.8K), while weekly initial jobless claims (238K vs street 235K) were in line with expectations.
In contrast, European markets are up big this morning, getting a boost from better than expected Service PMI reports from the UK and across the continent. This morning finds the Dax up 1.0%, the CAC up 1.5%, and the FTSE up 0.5%. US ISM Service PMI (street 52.5) and US Factory Orders (street 0.2%) are due at 10:00 am EDT.
Metals are on the rebound today with Copper up 2.1%, Silver up 3.3% and Gold up 1.0%. Crude Oil is attracting support as well, trading up 0.2% after API reported a 9.1 mmbbl drawdown in its weekly inventory report. DOE weekly oil inventories are due at 10:30 am EDT.
In currency action, cryptocurrencies are getting hammered with Bitcoin losing 3.0% and testing $60,000, while Ether is down 3.75% which could be seen as a sign of weakening risk appetite. The US 10-year treasury note yield is steady near 4.40%. Minutes from the last FOMC meeting are due at 2:00 pm EDT.