Eyes turn to the critical data calendar

This morning, global stock markets gave back some of last week's gains ahead of critical data to be released throughout the week.

This week, US growth and personal consumption, Eurozone inflation, and Chinese PMI data will be released abroad.

The S&P 500 index, which rose 1 percent over the entire course of last week, extended its uninterrupted rally to a 4th week. On Friday, the volatility index VIX also fell to its lowest level since January 2020. Wall Street indices declined in the first futures trading of the new week.

Stock indices in Asia are also in the red.

The US 10-year bond yield, after finishing last week with a 3 basis point rise, increased by another 3 basis points this morning to 4.4959 percent. The 2-year US bond yield is also up 2 basis points at 4.9699 percent, following a 6 basis point weekly climb. The Bloomberg Dollar Index, which ended the entire last week with a 0.5 percent decline, is flat at 1,239.

Online sales record during Friday campaigns in the US

According to Adobe Analytics data, US consumers made a record 9.8 billion dollars in online spending during this year's Friday campaigns, that is, on Friday, November 24.

Demand for electronic devices, smartwatches, TVs, and audio equipment helped online sales increase by 7.5 percent compared to last year.

This increase points to a significant improvement compared to last year's holiday season, when high inflation burned consumers' pockets and retailers made large discounts to get rid of bloated inventories.

According to a separate indicator from Salesforce Inc., online sales in the US increased by 9 percent on an annual basis, driven by footwear, sporting goods, health, and beauty.

Clothing, home, and beauty were the areas where the highest discounts occurred.

While these figures, announced before Cyber Monday—a marketing term used for e-commerce transactions on the Monday after Thanksgiving and created to encourage consumers to shop online—give an idea about holiday period spending, the general expectation is that sales growth will not be very bright in November and December.

Salesforce estimated that online sales in the US would increase by 1 percent in this period compared to 2022. This points to the slowest pace in at least five years. Adobe also expects sales to increase by 4.8 percent, remaining far behind the pre-pandemic annual average rate of 13 percent.

News Source: 12punto