Consumer sentiment slipped in early July but remained nearly equal to the average in the prior twelve months (97.7) and since the start of 2017 (97.4). The continuing strength has been due to favorable job and income prospects, with consumers under age 45 anticipating the largest income gains since July 2000. So far, the strength in jobs and incomes has overcome higher inflation and interest rates.

The darkening cloud on the horizon, however, is due to rising concerns about the potential negative impact of tariffs on the domestic economy. Negative concerns about the impact of tariffs have recently accelerated, rising from 15% in May, to 21% in June, and 38% in July.

U.S. stock-index futures were flat on Friday, as investors assessed the first batch of Q2 earnings at a time of continuing fear over the U.S.-China trade conflict tensions.

Global Stocks:

Wall Street. Stocks before the bell

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

AT&T (T) downgraded to Mkt Perform from Outperform at Raymond James

U.S. export prices increased 0.3 percent in June, after rising 0.6 percent the previous month. In June, higher nonagricultural prices more than offset decreasing prices for agricultural exports. Prices for overall exports advanced 5.3 percent over the past 12 months, the largest over-the-year increase since the index rose 6.3 percent in October 2011.

U.S. import prices decreased 0.4 percent in June, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, following a 0.9-percent advance in May. Lower prices for nonfuel and fuel imports contributed to the June decline. Prices for U.S. exports rose 0.3 percent in June, after rising 0.6 percent the previous month.

Citigroup (С) reported Q2 FY 2018 earnings of $1.63 per share (versus $1.28 in Q2 FY 2017), beating analysts' consensus estimate of $1.56.

The company's quarterly revenues amounted to $18.469 bln (+1.7% y/y), generally in-line with analysts' consensus estimate of $18.523 bln.

С fell to $68.15 (-0.53%) in pre-market trading.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) reported Q2 FY 2018 earnings of $2.29 per share (versus $1.82 in Q2 FY 2017), beating analysts' consensus estimate of $2.22.

The company's quarterly revenues amounted to $27.800 bln (+9.1% y/y), beating analysts' consensus estimate of $27.284 bln.

JPM rose to $107.90 (+0.98%) in pre-market trading.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. said Friday that second-quarter profit rose 18%as the bank continues to benefit from a strong U.S. economy and the new federal tax law.

The bank reported a profit of $8.3billion, or $2.29 a share.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected earnings of $2.22 a share.

JPMorgan, run by Chief Executive James Dimon, is one of a trio of big banks kicking off second-quarter earnings season for U.S. financial institutions. Together, the firms -- which include Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. -- offer investors a snapshot of a quarter that analysts were expecting to be characterized by loan growth mixed with sluggish trading.

BNP Paribas expects the European Central Bank to start raising the deposit rate in September 2019. Luigi Speranza, head of European economics at BNP Paribas, says that formally the ECB's forward guidance on rate is only an expectation and not a commitment. In practice, however, BNP Paribas finds that it would be "extremely costly" for the ECB to surprise the markets with an earlier move. The ECB's meeting on July 25, 2019 would be a bit of a stretch as it falls in the middle of the summer and it's not a month for ECB staff forecasts either. BNP Paribas expects the deposit rate, currently at minus 0.40%, to end 2019 at minus 0.20% - Via WSJ.

The Producer and Import Price Index increased in June 2018 by 0.2% compared with the previous month, reaching 103.2 points (December 2015 = 100). The rise is due in particular to higher prices for petroleum products and timber products. Compared with June 2017, the price level of the whole range of domestic and imported products rose by 3.5%. These are some of the findings from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

EUR/USD

Resistance levels (open interest**, contracts)

$1.1845 (2489)

$1.1791 (2648)

$1.1748 (155)

Price at time of writing this review: $1.1660

Support levels (open interest**, contracts):

$1.1604 (3088)

$1.1568 (4518)

$1.1528 (2376)

Comments:

- Overall open interest on the CALL options and PUT options with the expiration date August, 13 is 84707 contracts (according to data from July, 12) with the maximum number of contracts with strike price $1,1850 (5027);

GBP/USD

Resistance levels (open interest**, contracts)

$1.3330 (663)

$1.3296 (669)

$1.3267 (105)

Price at time of writing this review: $1.3166

Support levels (open interest**, contracts):

$1.3115 (2060)

$1.3084 (1689)

$1.3049 (2366)

Comments:

- Overall open interest on the CALL options with the expiration date August, 13 is 22165 contracts, with the maximum number of contracts with strike price $1,3600 (3221);

- Overall open interest on the PUT options with the expiration date August, 13 is 25433 contracts, with the maximum number of contracts with strike price $1,3100 (2366);

- The ratio of PUT/CALL was 1.15 versus 1.16 from the previous trading day according to data from July, 12.

* - 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.

New Zealand's level of manufacturing expansion experienced a dip in June, according to the BNZ - BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI).

The seasonally adjusted PMI for June was 52.8 (a PMI reading above 50.0 indicates that manufacturing is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining). This was 1.6 points lower than May, and the lowest level of monthly expansion since December 2017, which stood at 51.0.

As reported by the Federal Statistical Office, the selling prices in wholesale trade increased by 3.4% in June 2018 from the corresponding month of the preceding year. In May 2018 and in April 2018 the annual rates of change were +2.9% and +1.4%, respectively.

From May 2018 to June 2018 the index rose by 0.5%.

• "It's very hard to sit here today and say which way it's going," Powell said in an interview with Marketplace

China's exports increased at a faster-than-expected pace in June, data from the General Administration of Customs showed Friday.

In dollar terms, exports climbed 11.3 percent year-over-year in June, faster than the expected rise of 9.5 percent.

Imports advanced 14.1 percent in June from a year ago, well below economists' forecast for a growth of 21.3 percent.

The trade surplus totaled $41.61 billion in June versus the expected surplus of $27.72 billion.