Major US stock indexes moderately decreased following the results of the shortened trading session, as the growth of shares in the base materials sector was offset by a drop in quotations of the technology sector and Facebook shares due to renewed concerns over its data scandal.

A slight effect on the dynamics of trading was provided by the US. As it became known, new orders for goods manufactured in the USA unexpectedly increased in May, pointing to the strengthening of the manufacturing sector, but business expenses for equipment continued to show signs of slowing. The Ministry of Trade reported that production orders increased by 0.4% amid strong demand for machinery. Data for April were revised towards improvement - to -0.4% from -0.8%. Economists predicted that in May orders fell by 0.1%. Compared with May 2017, orders increased by 8.7%.

Also, data showed that the index of economic optimism in the US, calculated by the newspaper Investor's Business Daily and the research firm TechnoMetrica Institute of Policy and Politics, significantly improved in July, and was higher than the experts' forecasts. The index rose to 56.4 points from 53.9 points in June, while experts expected that it would rise only to 54.2 points. As a result, the index recorded the third increase in a row and reached the second highest level since October 2004.

Most DOW components recorded a decline (18 of 30). Outsider were the shares of NIKE, Inc. (NKE, -2.60%). The leader of growth was the shares of The Coca-Cola Company (KO, + 1.33%).

S & P Sectors completed trades are mixed. The base materials sector grew most (+ 1.0%), while the technological sector showed the largest decline (-0.8%).

At closing:

Index

Dow 24,174.82 -132.36 -0.54%

S & P 500 2,713.22 -13.49 -0.49%

Nasdaq 1007,502.67 -65.01 -0.86%

New orders for manufactured durable goods in May decreased $1.4 billion or 0.6 percent to $248.8 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. This decrease, down two consecutive months, followed a 1.0 percent April decrease. Excluding transportation, new orders decreased 0.3 percent. Excluding defense, new orders decreased 1.5 percent. Transportation equipment, also down two consecutive months, led the decrease, $0.9 billion or 1.0 percent to $86.1 billion.

Inventories of manufactured durable goods in May, up eighteen of the last nineteen months, increased $1.1 billion or 0.3 percent to $403.0 billion. This followed a 0.3 percent April increase. Transportation equipment, up five of the last six months, led the increase $0.5 billion or 0.4 percent to $129.0 billion.

U.S. stock-index futures rose on Tuesday, lifted by a rally in oil prices and the gains in technology names.

Global Stocks:

(company / ticker / price / change ($/%) / volume)

Many good conversations with North Korea-it is going well! In the meantime, no Rocket Launches or Nuclear Testing in 8 months. All of Asia is thrilled. Only the Opposition Party, which includes the Fake News, is complaining. If not for me, we would now be at War with North Korea!.

• Continued to judge that, apart from those related to Brexit, domestic risks remained standard overall. In recent months there had been some reduction in domestic risk appetite, although it remained strong. It agreed that risks from global vulnerabilities remained material and had increased.

• Maintained the UK countercyclical capital buffer (CCyB) rate at 1%. It would conduct as normal a comprehensive assessment of the resilience of the UK banking system in the 2018 stress test and review the adequacy of the 1% CCyB rate. It continued to judge that the UK banking system could support the real economy through a disorderly Brexit.

• Continued to monitor preparations to mitigate disruption to financial services that could arise from Brexit. It judged that progress had been made but that material risks remained. The biggest remaining risks of disruption were where action was needed by both UK and EU authorities, such as ensuring the continuity of existing derivative contracts. As yet the EU had not indicated a solution analogous to a temporary permissions regime. The FPC welcomed the establishment in April of a technical working group, chaired by the European Central Bank and Bank of England, on risk management in the area of financial services in the period around 30 March 2019.

• Reiterated that, irrespective of the particular form of the UK's future relationship with the EU, and consistent with its statutory responsibility, the FPC would remain committed to the implementation of robust prudential standards in the UK. This would require maintaining a level of resilience that was at least as great as that currently planned, which itself exceeded that required by international baseline standards".

In May 2018, compared with April 2018, industrial producer prices rose by 0.8% in the euro area (EA19) and by 1.0% in the EU28.

In April 2018, prices remained unchanged in the euro area and increased by 0.1% in EU28. In May 2018, compared with May 2017, industrial producer prices rose by 3.0% in the euro area and by 3.6% in the EU28.

The 0.8% increase in industrial producer prices in total industry in the euro area in May 2018, compared with April 2018, is due to rises of 2.6% in the energy sector, of 0.3% for intermediate goods and of 0.1% for durable consumer goods, while prices remained stable for capital goods and for non-durable consumer goods. Prices in total industry excluding energy rose by 0.2%.

In May 2018 compared with April 2018, the seasonally adjusted volume of retail trade did not change in the euro area (EA19) and increased by 0.3% in the EU28, according to estimates from Eurosta.

In April, the retail trade volume decreased by 0.1% in the euro area and increased by 0.3% in the EU28. In May 2018 compared with May 2017 the calendar adjusted retail sales index increased by 1.4% in the euro area and by 2.3% in the EU28.

The unchanged volume of retail trade in the euro area in May 2018, compared with April 2018, is due to a rise of 1.1% in "food, drinks and tobacco", while non-food products fell by 1.0%, and the volume of automotive fuels did not change. In the EU28, the 0.3% increase in the volume of retail trade is due to increases in "food, drinks and tobacco" by 1.2% and automotive fuel by 0.1%, while non-food products fell by 0.5%.

The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) posted 53.1 in June, up from 52.5 in May and above the 50.0 no-change value for the third month running. The latest reading pointed to the sharpest overall rise in construction output since November 2017.

June data revealed a solid expansion of overall construction activity, underpinned by greater residential work and a faster upturn in commercial building.

Economic activity is strong and inflation is close to the target of 2 per cent. As earlier, however, inflationary pressures are moderate. Monetary policy needs to continue to be expansionary for inflation to remain close to target. The Executive Board has therefore decided to hold the repo rate unchanged at −0.50 per cent. The forecast for the repo rate is also unchanged and indicates as before that slow repo rate rises will be initiated towards the end of the year.

The number of unemployed registered in the offices of the Public Employment Services has decreased in June by 89,968 people in relation to the previous month. In seasonally adjusted terms, unemployment has decreased by 15,865 people. With respect to June 2017, unemployment has reduced 200,649 people, which puts its year-on-year reduction level at 5.97%.

Thus, the total number of unemployed registered is 3,162,162, the lowest since December 2008. This means that since peak figures in February 2013, unemployment has been reduced by 1,960,060 people, but this decline remains in around seven points below pre-crisis levels.

• UK Wage Growth Gradually Picking Up Bad Weather Effect On Econ Temporary

EUR/USD

Resistance levels (open interest**, contracts)

$1.1807 (3101)

$1.1766 (3492)

$1.1709 (1001)

Price at time of writing this review: $1.1654

Support levels (open interest**, contracts):

$1.1581 (2552)

$1.1540 (4422)

$1.1494 (2994)

Comments:

- Overall open interest on the CALL options and PUT options with the expiration date July, 9 is 100653 contracts (according to data from July, 2) with the maximum number of contracts with strike price $1,1550 (4422);

GBP/USD

Resistance levels (open interest**, contracts)

$1.3311 (673)

$1.3271 (978)

$1.3236 (469)

Price at time of writing this review: $1.3165

Support levels (open interest**, contracts):

$1.3107 (1853)

$1.3075 (2409)

$1.3036 (970)

Comments:

- Overall open interest on the CALL options with the expiration date July, 9 is 25296 contracts, with the maximum number of contracts with strike price $1,3650 (2456);

- Overall open interest on the PUT options with the expiration date July, 9 is 33209 contracts, with the maximum number of contracts with strike price $1,3250 (2615);

- The ratio of PUT/CALL was 1.31 versus 1.26 from the previous trading day according to data from July, 2.

* - The Chicago Mercantile Exchange bulletin (CME) is used for the calculation.

** - Open interest takes into account the total number of option contracts that are open at the moment.

The number of dwellings approved in Australia fell by 1.5 per cent in May 2018 in trend terms, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today.

"Dwelling approvals have weakened in May, driven by a 2.6 per cent fall in private dwellings excluding houses," said Justin Lokhorst, Director of Construction Statistics at the ABS.

Among the states and territories, dwelling approvals in May fell in Queensland (4.2 per cent), Victoria (2.7 per cent), Tasmania (2.0 per cent) and Western Australia (0.8 per cent) in trend terms.

Dwelling approvals rose in trend terms in South Australia (4.3 per cent), Northern Territory (2.8 per cent) and Australian Capital Territory (1.5 per cent), and were flat in New South Wales.

In trend terms, approvals for private sector houses fell 0.5 per cent in May. Private sector house approvals fell in Queensland (1.7 per cent), Western Australia (0.6 per cent), South Australia (0.4 per cent) and New South Wales (0.2 per cent). Private sector house approvals were flat in Victoria.

"The global economic expansion is continuing. A number of advanced economies are growing at an above-trend rate and unemployment rates are low. The Chinese economy continues to grow solidly, with the authorities paying increased attention to the risks in the financial sector and the sustainability of growth. Globally, inflation remains low, although it has increased in some economies and further increases are expected given the tight labour markets. One uncertainty regarding the global outlook stems from the direction of international trade policy in the United States. There have also been strains in a few emerging market economies, largely for country-specific reasons.

Financial conditions remain expansionary, although they are gradually becoming less so in some countries. There has been a broad-based appreciation of the US dollar. In Australia, short-term wholesale interest rates have increased over recent months. This is partly due to developments in the United States, but there are other factors at work as well. It remains to be seen the extent to which these factors persist.

The recent data on the Australian economy continue to be consistent with the Bank's central forecast for GDP growth to average a bit above 3 per cent in 2018 and 2019. GDP grew strongly in the March quarter, with the economy expanding by 3.1 per cent over the year. Business conditions are positive and non-mining business investment is continuing to increase. Higher levels of public infrastructure investment are also supporting the economy. One continuing source of uncertainty is the outlook for household consumption. Household income has been growing slowly and debt levels are high".