Apple announces first major product since 2014

A late session reversal by market-cap heavyweight Apple on Monday kept the S&P 500 Index from ending at a level that would have signalled the start of a fresh bull market for the index while fading excitement over the conclusion of the debt-ceiling standoff made for a soft day of trading.  The S&P 500 was down 0.2%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite retreated by 0.1%.  European shares all closed lower yesterday, with the Euro Stoxx 50 Index down 0.7%, after remarks from ECB President Lagarde signalled the central bank’s inclination to maintain its current policy trajectory. 

Summary for 06.06.2023 

• Most Asian equities rose on Tuesday, extending a recovery from recent lows as weak US data pushed up hopes that the Federal Reserve will have little headroom to keep raising rates.  The Hang Seng was the best performer for the day, up 1.1% as it extended a recovery from six-month lows.  The Shanghai Composite rose about 0.3% as investors bought into heavily discounted Chinese markets on some bets of an economic recovery later this year. 
• European equities are on course for a tepid start while US equity futures inched lower overnight as a rally in global shares ground to a halt. 
• Oil prices crept lower in Asian trade this morning as initial optimism over more supply cuts by Saudi Arabia and OPEC was largely offset by persistent concerns over slowing economic growth and weakening demand. 

• The Reserve Bank of Australia unexpectedly raised the cash rate by 25bps to 4.1% earlier today after increasing it by the same margin in May.  This marks the 12th time the bank has lifted rates in the past year, defying market predictions for a pause and pushing borrowing costs to their highest level since April 2012. 
• The US ISM Services PMI fell to 50.3 in May from 51.9 in April, pointing to the fifth consecutive month of expansion in the services sector, but the slowest in the current sequence.  Figures came below forecasts of 52.2, amid a slowdown in business activity, new orders, and new export orders, while employment contracted. 
• European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said inflation pressures remain powerful and borrowing costs will be raised further to tackle them — cementing expectations for another interest-rate hike at next week’s meeting. Lagarde reiterated that there’s no clear evidence that underlying inflation has peaked. 
• Retail sales in the United Kingdom rose 3.7% on a like-for-like basis in May from a year ago, slowing from a 5.2% growth in April as soaring food prices prompted shoppers to rein in spending on non-essential items and dashed hopes of a boost from three public holidays.  May’s figure was also the slowest rate of growth in seven months. 
• Apple yesterday announced the launch of Vision Pro, a virtual reality aural and visual headset whereby users will be able to have VR and augmented reality (AR) experiences.  The new tool enables users to view apps projected onto the area around them, thus allowing those apps to be “freed from the confines of a display.”  The handset initially will sell for $3,499 and will be available at the beginning of 2024 in the US, with the price being significantly higher than similar devices being marketed by its competitors.  Shares were down about 0.8% after rising as much as 2.2% earlier Monday to a new intraday high. 

• The US Securities and Exchange Commission accused Binance Holdings and its Chief Executive Officer Changpeng Zhao of mishandling customer funds, misleading investors and regulators, and breaking securities rules. In a 136-page complaint filed Monday in US federal court in Washington, the SEC laid out a range of alleged violations against the world’s biggest crypto exchange and its leader.