Stocks mixed after Wall Street ended mixed - 1.5.2025

The Dollar strengthening is intact today. 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, ended 0.4% higher on Wednesday.

Both EUR/USD and GBP/USD accelerated their retreating yesterday despite flash data from statistics agency Eurostat showing that euro zone economy expanded by above-expected 0.4% in the first quarter. Both Pound and euro are lower against the dollar currently. AUD/USD joined USD/JPY’s accelerated advancing on Wednesday with both the yen and the Australian dollar lower against the Greenback currently.

The US stock index futures are up currently ahead of unemployment claims and manufacturing PMI reports at 14:30 CET and 16:00 CET respectively. US stocks rosed mixed on Wednesday with the three main US stock benchmarks recording daily returns in the range from -0.1% to 0.35% after Bureau of Economic Analysis reported the US economy shrank by an annual rate of 0.3 per cent in the first quarter while the payroll firm ADP reported that private sector employment grew by below-expected 62,000 in April.

European stock indexes are mixed currently after closing higher yesterday with auto stocks closing lower as Volkswagen reported 37% drop in first-quarter profit. Asian stock indexes futures are mixed in thin trading with markets in China and Hong Kong closed for Labor Day holiday while Japan’s Nikkei Index leads gains after the Bank of Japan kept interest rates unchanged.

Brent is extending losses presently. Prices fell Wednesday after Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s biggest oil producers, signaled it was unwilling to support the oil market with further supply cuts amid reports several OPEC+ members will suggest that the group accelerate oil output increases for a second consecutive month in June at group’s meeting on May 5. Prices fell despite the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) report US crude oil stocks fell by 2.7 million barrels to 440.4 million barrels last week when a build-up was expected. The US oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures fell 3.7% and are lower currently. Brent crude lost 1.76% to $63.12 a barrel on Wednesday.