Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Friday, June 23:
1. Dollar on track for worst quarter in 7 years
The dollar was on course for its worst quarter in seven years on Friday, recovering only marginally in early morning trade against major peers after a week of central bank remarks on inflation shook major currency markets, causing investors to increase expectations for policy tightening in both Europe and the U.K.
The greenback gained around 0.4% against the euro on Friday, but was still down almost 9% on the quarter and off 2% this week alone.
Investors will gauge U.S. data later in the session including the Federal Reserve’s favorite inflation gauge, the core PCE price index, along with personal income & spending for May at 8:30AM ET (12:30GMT).
At 9:45AM ET (13:45GMT), the Chicago purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for June will be released, followed 15 minutes later by the University of Michigan’s revision to its consumer sentiment index for the same month.
Ahead of the data, at 5:52AM ET (9:52GMT), the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.15% at 95.46.
2. Oil set for biggest weekly gain since mid-May
Oil prices moved higher on Friday, putting crude on track for its biggest weekly gain since May as it broke a losing streak of five consecutive weeks.
Data indicating a fall in U.S. production bolstered markets this week after crude prices hit a 10-month low last week in the face of a mounting supply glut.
Eyes will remain on U.S. shale production later in the session with Baker Hughes’ weekly rig count data.
U.S. drillers last week added rigs for the 23rd week in a row, according to data from the energy services company, the longest such streak on record.
U.S. crude oil futures gained 0.69% to $45.24 at 5:54AM ET (9:54GMT), while Brent oil traded up 0.67% to $47.95.
3. Nike soars 6% after earnings, plan to team up with Amazon
Nike (NYSE:NKE) jumped more than 6% in pre-market trade Friday as the world’s largest footwear maker handily beat consensus on both the top and bottom line after releasing earnings following the prior session’s close.
Nike also announced that it would launch a pilot program with Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) to sell a limited product assortment on its website with analysts projecting that the partnership could raise the firm’s revenue by $300 to $500 million if it turned into a more meaningful relationship.
4. Global stocks followed Wall Street’s prior close lower
Global stocks were mixed Friday after a renewed Wall Street sell-off led by techs.
European shares were slightly higher across the board, but were still set to end June with their biggest monthly loss in one year as worries over tightening monetary conditions soured the mood. At 5:57AM ET (9:57GMT), the European benchmark Euro Stoxx 50 gained 0.31%, the DAX rose 0.17%, the CAC 40 traded up 0.49% while London's FTSE 100 inched up 0.02%.
Earlier, Asian stocks closed mostly lower as New York’s plunge dampened sentiment, though positive data out from China left the Shanghai Composite with gains of 0.14%. Japan’s Nikkei closed down 0.92%.
U.S. futures pointed to a slightly higher open, but trade may be muted considering the upcoming Fourth of July holiday as investors wrap up early to enjoy a long weekend. Wall Street will be open only the first half of Monday and will remain closed on Tuesday. At 5:59AM ET (9:59GMT), the blue-chip Dow futures gained 0.15%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.18% while the Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.19%.
5. China manufacturing activity accelerates, Japan inflation misses
Asian data released early Friday gave a mixed reading as China's manufacturing activity accelerated more than expected in June, suggesting the world's second-largest economy continues to confound expectations for a slowdown.
The official manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 51.7 in June, accelerating from May's 51.2 and beating a Reuters poll forecast for 51.0.
Meanwhile, Japan saw consumer price inflation (CPI) come in under expectations in May with a 0.4% rise, compared to the forecast for 0.5%.
It was at least the country’s fifth consecutive month of gains, giving hope to the Bank of Japan that inflation could eventually rise towards target.