US indices finished yesterday’s trading mostly higher. S&P 500 gained 0.13%, Dow Jones moved 0.28% higher and Russell 2000 added 0.60%. Nasdaq was a laggard, dropping 0.43%

Upbeat moods could also be spotted during the Asia-Pacific session. S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.2%, Kospi added 0.3% and indices from China traded up to 1.5% higher. Nikkei was a laggard with a 0.2% drop

DAX futures point to a slightly lower opening of the European cash session

Moody’s lowered the forecast for US real GDP growth to from 2.8% to 2.1% for 2022 and from 2.3% to 1.3% for 2023. Real GDP growth forecast for euro area was lowered from 2.5% to 2.2% for 2022 and from 2.3% to 0.9% for 2023

Bank of Japan minutes did not include any surprises. Document showed that BoJ stays committed to its ultra-loose policy

Russia surpassed Saudi Arabia as the largest supplier of crude to China

Walmart slumped almost 10% in the after-hours trading. The US retailer issued a profit warning after the market closed. Company expects adjusted EPS to decline 8-9% YoY in Q2 2022 and 11-13% during the full-year

Amazon announced price hikes of Amazon Prime subscription for UK and EU, citing higher costs as a reason. UK customers will pay 20% more while customers from Spain, Italy and France will sees 39-43% hikes

South Korean economy expanded 0.7% QoQ in Q2 2022 (exp. 0.4% QoQ)

Cryptocurrencies are pulling back. Bitcoin drops 4% while Ethereum trades 6% lower. Uniswap is one of top laggards with a 8% drop at press time

Oil and industrial metals gained on USD weakness. Gold and other precious metals traded slightly higher

GBP and JPY are the best performing major currencies while CHF, NZD and USD lag the most

Oil prices jumped yesterday, along with other energy commodities, after it was reported that Russia gas flows to Europe may shrink further. Brent (OIL) made its way back above $100 per barrel and is approaching a short-term resistance in the $103 area. A point to note is that the 200-session moving average has once again managed to halt declines (orange circle).