A mixed close for European stock indices

The European major indices close with mixed results today led higher by France's CAC and Spain's Ibex. German, UK and Italy indices are lower.

The final numbers are showing:

• German DAX -0.39%
• France's CAC +0.28%
• UK's FTSE 100 -0.14%
• Spain's Ibex +0.16%
• Italy's FTSE MIB -0.16%

As London/European traders exit, a snapshot of other markets are showing:

• Gold is down -$12.49 -0.62% at $2016.94.
• Silver is down $-1.14 or -4.53% at $24.23
• Crude oil is down $0.77 at $71.80
• Bitcoin is trading at $27,200. Near 5 PM yesterday, the price was trading at $27,889

In the US debt market yields are lower but well off their low levels:

• 2 year yield 3.866% -3.5 basis points
• 5 year yield 3.334% -4.0 basis points
• 10 year yield 3.389% -4.6 basis points
• 30 year yield 3.764% -3.5 basis points

in the US equity markets, the major indices are mixed with the Dow industrial average under pressure as Disney shares a slump (-8.17%).

• Dow industrial average -221 points or -0.66% at 33310.46
• S&P minus 9.08 points or -0.22% at 4128.73
• NASDAQ index +12.0 points or +0.10% at 12318.71

Alphabet shares are up $5.43 or 4.86%. Microsoft shares are down -$2.53 or -0.81%. The big tech titans are squaring off on AI.

Nvidia is down $-2.30 or -0.79%. Apple shares are unchanged at $173.53. Meta is up $4.23 or 1.81%.

The regional bank ETF KRE is down $0.47 or -1.27% at $36.59 but is off its low of $35.98. PacWest Bancorp is down $1.42 or -23.27% at $4.67. He traded as low as $4 and as high as $5.23 today.

The Bank of England Bank of England The Bank of England (BoE) functions as the United Kingdom’s central bank and is one of the key drivers of monetary policy in Europe. As one of the world’s oldest central banks and established in 1694, the BoE is owned by the British government. Its central mandate involves maintaining and targeting interest rates while using other tools to help either stimulate or contract the economy. Moreover, the BoE is responsible for producing the UK’s bank notes as well as supervising key bank payment sy The Bank of England (BoE) functions as the United Kingdom’s central bank and is one of the key drivers of monetary policy in Europe. As one of the world’s oldest central banks and established in 1694, the BoE is owned by the British government. Its central mandate involves maintaining and targeting interest rates while using other tools to help either stimulate or contract the economy. Moreover, the BoE is responsible for producing the UK’s bank notes as well as supervising key bank payment sy Read this Term raises its key interest rate to 4.5% from 4.25%, marking the 12th consecutive hike and the highest level since 2008. The central bank seeks to curb the fastest inflation of any major economy and address inflationary pressures, such as persistent food price increases and strong wage growth. Policymakers voted 7-2 for the increase, in line with economists' expectations, and the BoE now expects inflation to drop more slowly than previously anticipated. The central bank will "stay the course" to ensure inflation falls back to the 2% target.

In the US, the initial jobless claims Jobless Claims Jobless claims are a weekly statistic reported in the United States that represents a key barometer for domestic employment. As one of the most closely watched US indicators, jobless claims carry a lot of weight in financial markets, namely forex and the stock market.Jobless claims are reported on a weekly basis by the Department of Labor. While painting a picture of the overall health of the economy, jobless claims can be broken down into two types.This includes initial jobless claims or person Jobless claims are a weekly statistic reported in the United States that represents a key barometer for domestic employment. As one of the most closely watched US indicators, jobless claims carry a lot of weight in financial markets, namely forex and the stock market.Jobless claims are reported on a weekly basis by the Department of Labor. While painting a picture of the overall health of the economy, jobless claims can be broken down into two types.This includes initial jobless claims or person Read this Term came in much higher than expected at 264K which represents the highest level in 19 months. Is the job engine slowing in the US?

US Producer Price Index (PPI) increased by 0.2% in April, less than the expected 0.3%, with the headline PPI rising 2.3% year-over-year. The increase in PPI was driven by portfolio management costs and gasoline prices, while a 37.9% drop in chicken egg prices helped keep the number in check. The PPI measures prices that producers pay for the goods and services they need, and the less-than-expected increase suggests that inflation pressures may be easing.

The USD moved higher on flight to safety flows on worries about a hard landing perhaps.

The GBPUSD remains under pressure with the GBPUSD reaching new low of 1.2496 as London traders exit for the day. There is support at 1.2495 to 1.2500 on the hourly chart. Move below and traders will target 1.2477 (61.8% of the move up from the April 17 low).