SUMMARY 5.5

Wall Street indices ended yesterday's trading lower as renewed concerns over regional banks weighed on sentiment

The S&P 500 fell 0.72%, the Dow Jones moved 0.86% lower and the Russell 2000 fell 1.18%. The Nasdaq had a better performance, falling "only" 0.49%

PacWest Bancorp fell 50% and Western Alliance traded 38% lower on reports that those banks are exploring a potential sale, First Horizon fell 33% after it terminated its merger agreement with TD Bank.

Asia-Pacific indices traded mixed today, with Australian and Hong Kong stocks gaining, Chinese and Indian indices falling, while South Korean stocks were flat

DAX futures point to a slightly higher opening to the European cash session

According to a Reuters report, Russia and India are trying to halt bilateral rupee trade. It says a switch to INR would leave Russia with a large and unwanted rupee surplus

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Novak said Russia plans to stick to its previously announced 500,000 barrels per day oil production cut by the end of 2023.

China's Caixin services PMI fell to 56.4 in April from 57.8 (expected 57.0)

Apple reported fiscal quarter EPS of $1.52 (expected $1.43) and revenue of $94.84 billion (expected $92.96 billion), driven by strong iPhone sales. The company authorized $90 billion in additional share repurchases. Shares jumped 2.5% during after-market trading.

Major cryptocurrencies are trading slightly higher today. Bitcoin rises 1.3% to climb back above $29,000, while Ethereum adds 1.1% to approach the $1,900 area

Oil trades 0.7-0.8% higher, while US natural gas prices are down 2%

Despite the weakening USD, precious metals trade mixed with gold down 0.1%, silver trading 0.2% lower, platinum adding 0.2% and palladium gaining 0.8%

AUD and NZD are the best performing major currencies, while USD and CAD are the biggest laggards.