Market Information Friday 2 August 2019

The yield on Dutch 10-year government bonds has reached a new low on Thursday. The yield decreased to -0.399%. The yield has declined even further since it dropped below zero at the end of May. Investors prefer sovereign bonds over stocks due to perceived risks in the stock market, as signs from the US, China and Europe indicate that the global economy is cooling down. The Japanese Nikkei lost 2.1% and ended on 21,087.16 points on Thursday, after president Trump announced new import tariffs, which will become effective on September first. The Dow-Jones index, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq lost 1.1%, 0.9% and 0.8% respectively.

The United States Department of Labor announced that the amount of initial jobless claims has increased by 8,000 claims. Last week, the amount of initial jobless claims totalled 215,000 requests, compared to 207,000 in the previous week. Economists expected 214,000 requests this week.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, construction spending in the United States decreased by 1.3% in June compared to May, economists expected an increase of 0.3%. In May, construction spending decreased by 0.5%.

The 6M Euribor is unchanged at -0.36% compared to previous business day. The 10Y Swap decreased with 3 basis points to -0.02% compared to previous business day.

In the attachment, today’s market data on money and capital market rates as well as other rates are presented.