US business activity picked up, but not so in the EU

Sentiment across the New York (NY) session fluctuated between risk-on/off. Investors’ recessionary fears about the US were pushed away by April’s S&P Global PMI figures, which showed the economy’s resilience, despite the US Federal Reserve (Fed) 475 bps of tightening. Manufacturing and Services PMIs exceeded estimates, with the former at 50.4, above 49 expectations, while the latter jumped to 53.7 from 51.5 estimates. Therefore, the Composite Index aimed higher to 53.5.

The market initially reacted to buying the US Dollar, which gained some ground vs. the Euro, as it dived to 1.0942. Nevertheless, buyers moved in and lifted the EUR/USD pair, though they failed to crack the 1.1000 mark.

This happened after Thursday’s data, namely, US unemployment claims, housing data, and the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index, flashed a gloomy scenario, triggering flows towards safety, except for the US Dollar.

Aside from this, on the Eurozone (EU) side, Thursday’s calendar featured a surplus in the Balance of Trader of €4.6B, better than January’s deficit of €-31.6B, which was upward revised, alongside the Consumer Confidence, which improved a tick, to -17.5 above -18.5 estimates.

On Friday, the EU’s PMI was mixed, with the Manufacturing Index at 45.5, standing at contractionary territory missing estimates, while the Services and Composite Indices exceeded the consensus, expanding.