1. Wall Street | US stocks climbed on Friday as investors brushed off a stronger-than-expected inflation reading, as both the Dow and S&P 500 indexes clinched their first weekly gain in the past three weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 61.32 points, or 0.18 percent, to 34,525.96, the S&P 500 gained 2.92 points, or 0.07 percent, at 4,203.8 and the Nasdaq Composite added 11.33 points, or 0.08 percent, at 13,747.61.
2. Asian markets | Shares in Asia traded mixed in Monday morning trade after China’s official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for May came in at 51.0, a slight decrease from the previous month’s reading of 51.1. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.49 percent while the Topix index slipped 0.4 percent. South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.19 percent. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was slightly higher. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded fractionally higher.
3. Indian market on Friday | The Indian equity benchmark indices ended higher on Friday with the Nifty posting a record closing high as falling COVID-19 infection rates boosted sentiment. The Sensex ended 307.66 points, or 0.60 percent higher at 51,422.88, while the Nifty gained 97.80 points, or 0.64 percent, to settle at a record closing high of 15,435.65. Broader markets underperformed benchmarks with the midcap index ending marginally lower and smallcap index down 0.7 percent.
4. Crude oil | Oil prices traded higher, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 0.61 percent to $69.14 per barrel. US crude futures also gained 0.69 percent to $66.78 per barrel.
5. Rupee | The Indian rupee clocked its third straight session of gains on Friday, firming up by another 15 paise to end the session at 72.45 against the US dollar amidst improved risk-on sentiments. At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 72.46 against the greenback and witnessed an intra-day high of 72.31 and a low of 72.49 during the session. It finally ended at 72.45 against the American currency, registering a rise of 15 paise over its previous close. In the last three trading sessions, the rupee has appreciated by 51 paise. During the week, the Indian currency gained 38 paise against the US dollar.
6. Pent-up demand, shortages fuel US inflation | US consumer prices surged in April, with a measure of underlying inflation blowing past the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target and posting its largest annual gain since 1992, because of pent-up demand and supply constraints as the economy reopens. Consumer prices as measured by the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, excluding the volatile food and energy components, increased 0.7 percent last month amid strong gains in both goods and services. In the 12 months through April, the core PCE price index vaulted 3.1 percent, the most since July 1992, after rising 1.9 percent in March.
7. China's factory activity slows slightly in May as raw material costs surge | China’s official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for May came in at 51.0. That compared against analyst expectations for a reading of 51.1 in a Reuters poll. The May figure was also a slight decrease from the previous month’s reading of 51.1.
8. FinMin widens scope of ECLGS | The finance ministry on Sunday expanded the scope of the Rs 3 lakh crore Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS), which will now offer concessional loans to hospitals for setting up on-site oxygen generation plants. Besides, the validity of the scheme has been extended by three months to September 30 and or till guarantees for an amount of Rs 3 lakh crore are issued, the ministry said in a statement. The last date of disbursement under the scheme has been extended to December 31.
9. Economy added 16.9 lakh less jobs in FY21 | Net job creation in the economy fell by 16.9 lakh in FY21 over the previous fiscal, shows an SBI Research analysis of EPFO payroll data. However, the FY21 numbers are better than the FY20 net job creation, which had declined by 28.9 lakh, further cementing the view that the economy is not creating new employment opportunities. The latest EPFO data shows that net new EPF subscribers stood at 94.5 lakh in FY21, and NPS added 5.82 lakh, taking the cumulative net addition to 100.4 lakh, which is marginally down from 102.3 lakh in FY20.
10. FPIs net sellers for 2nd consecutive month; pull out Rs 1,730 cr in May | Foreign portfolio investors (FPI) turned out to be net sellers for second month in a row by taking out nearly Rs 1,730 crore from Indian markets in May as second wave of the coronavirus pandemic spooked investor sentiment. In April, the total net outflow from the Indian capital markets (both equity and debt) stood at Rs 9,435 crore. According to depositories data, overseas investors withdrew Rs 3,375.2 crore from equities but invested Rs 1,645.8 crore in the debt segment between May 1 and May 28. This took the total net outflow to Rs 1,729.4 crore.