Multi-Asset Morning Pack – 18 May 2026
06:00 UK | US → Asia Handover
1. US Close
- S&P 500: 7,408.50, -1.24%
- Nasdaq: 26,225.15, -1.54%
- Dow: 49,526.17, -1.07%
- Russell 2000: 2,793.30, -2.44%
- VIX: 18.43, +6.78%
Wall Street finished sharply lower, led by weakness in small caps and tech, as higher long-end yields and renewed inflation concerns pressured risk appetite.
2. Asia Handover
- Nikkei 225: 60,929, -0.78%
- Hang Seng: 25,613, -1.35%
- Shanghai Composite: 4,126, -0.22%
- Shenzhen: 15,513, -0.31%
- ASX 200: 8,509, -1.42%
- KOSPI: 7,507, +0.18%
Asia followed the weaker US lead, with China under pressure after April data showed retail sales slowing sharply and investment momentum deteriorating. Oil-sensitive inflation worries also kept bond yields elevated.
3. Overnight Headlines
- China’s economy loses steam in April as retail sales hit 40-month low
- US long bond yield hits highest since 2023 on inflation concern
- Trump warns Iran to “get moving” as oil prices push higher
- BoE should not be “trigger happy” on rates, says top official
- EU plans to force companies to buy parts from non-Chinese suppliers
- Anthropic to brief global financial watchdog on cyber flaws exposed by Mythos
- Samsung strike threat looms after failed pay talks
4. Bonds
- US 2Y: 4.103%, +1.9bp
- US 5Y: 4.290%, +3.2bp
- US 10Y: 4.627%, +3.2bp
- US 20Y: 5.172%, +2.7bp
- US 30Y: 5.152%, +2.4bp
The curve remains under pressure, with the long end leading the inflation-risk narrative as crude rallies and investors demand more term premium.
5. FX
- USD/JPY: 158.98, +0.14%
- EUR/USD: 1.1620, -0.04%
- GBP/USD: 1.3314, -0.05%
- EUR/GBP: 0.8724, +0.02%
- USD/CNY: 6.8138, +0.07%
- USD/KRW: 1,504.50, +0.45%
6. Commodities
- WTI crude: $107.59, +2.06%
- Brent crude: $111.24, +1.81%
- Natural gas: $3.03, +2.36%
- RBOB gasoline: $3.7189, +0.46%
- Heating oil: $4.1001, +1.15%
Energy is the clear outperformer, with crude bid on Iran-related geopolitical risk, adding to inflation concerns across rates markets.
7. US Futures
- Dow futures: 49,196.0, -0.85%
- S&P futures: 7,385.5, -0.63%
- Nasdaq futures: 29,063.5, -0.58%
- Russell futures: 2,783.5, -0.58%
US futures point to another soft open, leaving the market firmly in risk-off mode heading into the European session.
8. Economic Calendar
| Time UK | Event | Estimate | Prior |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00:01 | UK Rightmove House Prices MoM | — | 0.8% |
| 03:00 | China Retail Sales YoY | 2.0% | 1.7% |
| 03:00 | China Industrial Production YoY | 5.9% | 5.7% |
| 03:00 | China Fixed Asset Investment YTD YoY | 1.6% | 1.7% |
| 13:30 | US Empire Manufacturing | 7.5 | 11.0 |
Prepared 06:00 UK | Sources: CNBC, Bloomberg, Reuters, FT, LiveSquawk
No comments:
Post a Comment