On Tuesday, the U.S. stock index again failed to get off the ground, with the range of growth/decline of leading indicators ranging from -0.1% to +0.1%. At the same time, Apple stock rose to USD 515 and they only fell short of their historic maximum by slightly less than 2%. In our view, the dynamics of the Company’s shares are a good indicator of sentiment in the world's largest stock market.
Monday’s productive meeting among European officials had no significant effect on risky asset markets either on Monday or Tuesday, which confirms the view that investors are currently paying attention to other factors. It is particularly important that players did not use the resolution to the "Greek question" as a driver of the idea “buy rumors, sell the facts”. Therefore, it appears that investors should simply continue to European news background.
In turn, there was interesting news from China. This morning, the preliminary value of the index of business activity in the industrial sector was published – it was below 50, which means a decline in activity. This is the fourth time it has fallen below this mark, leading investors to conclude that China's economy will probably continue to slow down and that the Chinese government will, as a result, return to the easing of monetary policy.
On the other hand, the dynamics of the HSBC Flash Manufacturing PMI index are clearly on the mend (the dynamics over the past 4 months were at 48, 49, 48.8, and 49.7). Thus, speculation about China's monetary policy is more due to investors’ desire to find at least some positive reason. Therefore, the minimum increase in stock markets before the opening of Ukrainian sites should be treated with caution. This is not the time to open short positions, nor is it worth it to open long positions at current levels.
