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April 30, 2021

Good morning. Twitter's plunge, copper's rally, a possible second investigation for Johnson and a China tech crackdown. Here's what's moving markets.

Twitter Sinks

Twitter shares plunged 12% in U.S. after-hours trading after a soft sales forecast as the firm fails to fully-capitalize on a surge in advertising spending by online retailers. That said, the platform still managed to lift daily active users by 20% to 199 million during the latest quarter, even without the outbursts of former U.S. president Donald Trump to attract new members. More important for broader tech, however, were Amazon's results, with the ecommerce and cloud giant reporting a jump in revenue as pandemic shopping and work habits persist. The stock added 2%.

Copper Nears Record

Copper topped $10,000 a metric ton for the first time since 2011 on Thursday, nearing an all-time high as miners of the base metal that's used in everything from electric cars to door handles struggle to keep up with a global economic rebound. The U.S.'s $2.25 trillion infrastructure package and bets that more aggressive climate pledges will accelerate the proliferation of solar panels, wind turbines and green vehicles are further driving gains. Still, a gauge of China's manufacturing industry slipped in April, according to data released overnight, and U.S. futures are lower this morning. 

Second Probe Possible

The U.K. parliamentary "sleaze" watchdog may probe whether Prime Minister Boris Johnson broke the code of conduct for Members of Parliament by failing to properly declare how the refurbishment of his government residence was funded. An opposition Labour MP wrote to the  commissioner for standards requesting the investigation, a day after the Electoral Commission announced its own probe. Johnson has denied wrongdoing. 

China Tech Hit

Stocks in Asia fell after Chinese regulators imposed restrictions on a list of technology companies in an antitrust crackdown. China has waged a campaign to rein in its internet giants as the government grew increasingly concerned over their influence over Chinese life, as well as the vast amounts of data they've amassed through providing services like online shopping, communicating and ride-hailing.

Coming Up…

Yep, more earnings: Covid-19 vaccine-maker AstraZeneca and banks Barclays, BNP Paribas and BBVA are among the names to look out for. In data, economic growth numbers are due out from several euro area countries. European stock futures are slipping. Finally, people in the U.K. get a long weekend for the early May bank holiday.

What We've Been Reading

This is what's caught our eye over the past 24 hours. 

And finally, here's what Emily Barrett is interested in this morning

If there were any stray government-bond bulls still dotted on the investment landscape, they might be looking a little, well, sheepish. This year's losses have seen most of them off. And a strong set of growth numbers from the U.S. and the lowest jobless claims of this pandemic era have helped push yields higher again. In Germany, the benchmark touched a two-year high (some say it'll be positive by December.) But it's been no hayride for the dedicated shorts, either. The direction of global yields has been a matter of serious debate this month, as the world's benchmark borrowing rate -- the U.S. 10-year -- stalled after rising 83 basis points in the first quarter. Optimism over the economic reopening looked priced into the market pretty heavily already. The Treasury market is set for its first positive monthly return in five months, and best performance since July, judging by the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Treasury index. That said, it's hardly stellar, at 0.67%. And a lot can happen in a day. The Fed's preferred measure of inflation -- the personal consumption expenditures price index -- is coming in U.S. hours.... and it's going to pop. We know by now to ignore jumping inflation numbers for the next couple of months, while the effects of last year's deflationary shock are distorting the data. But there's always the possibility that some frustrated bear will take a seemingly hot reading as the cue to drive yields higher.

Emily Barrett is a cross-asset reporter and editor for Bloomberg News in Melbourne

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