Inflationary pressures are easing in Europe. Investors awaiting approval of debt ceiling bill

Shares of HP Inc (HPQ) fell more than 5% after posting mixed quarterly results as revenue fell short of expectations due to lower demand for PCs. NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) fell more than 5%, while Intel Corporation (INTC) resisted the trend, rising nearly 5% as the chipmaker talked up prospects and received a vote of confidence from Nvidia. Nvidia’s CEO said yesterday that the company could buy chips from Intel. IBM plans to replace nearly 8,000 employees with AI. Most of it will be faced by office support workers, especially in the human resources sector. IBM also announced earlier this year that it would cut 3,900 jobs for more automation and cost-cutting measures.

The latest inflation data showed that consumer prices in France fell from 5.9% to 5.1% y/y, in Italy, inflation fell from 8.2% to 7.6% y/y, and in Germany, CPI fell from 7.2% to 6.1% y/y. Today, the overall Eurozone figure will be released. The Eurozone inflation figure is expected to fall from 7.0% to 6.3% y/y, and the core indicator (which excludes food and energy prices) is expected to fall slightly from 5.6% to 5.5%. But that won’t stop the European Central Bank from raising rates in June.

Oil prices hit a one-month low on Wednesday after weak production data from China, the world’s largest oil importer, raised concerns about demand growth in the second half of the year. Oil prices have fallen more than 16% since the beginning of the year as China’s sluggish economic recovery and the Federal Reserve’s tightening of monetary policy weigh on demand prospects. At the same time, rising demand ahead of summer is not currently supporting prices in any way. Crude oil inventories will be released today, and there will be an OPEC+ meeting on June 4, where there may be surprises in the form of production cuts to support prices.

Asian markets were mostly down yesterday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 (JP225) shed by 1.41% over the day, China’s FTSE China A50 (CHA50) fell by 1.72%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HK50) ended Wednesday down by 1.94%, India’s NIFTY 50 (IND50) lost 0.53%, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 (AU200) closed negative yesterday by 1.64%.

Australian stocks were supported today by stronger-than-expected first-quarter capital spending data. The reading underscores some strength in the Australian economy as it struggles with high inflation, rising rates and slowing growth. Strong economic data also encouraged Japanese stocks as capital spending rose more than expected in the first quarter, indicating a potentially higher revision to first-quarter economic growth data.