U.S. Stock Market - Top 5 things to watch

1. Poor data from China

China's economy slowed further in April, even before Donald Trump raised tariffs on US import goods.

Data released today showed a sharp decline in industrial production and retail sales growth, while investment levels in fixed income instruments have also fallen slightly.

The Chinese stock market rallied in spite of these news, apparently in anticipation of a financial stimulus from the central bank of the country. The Yuan, which hit a new bottom this year, fell to 6.91 against the dollar on offshore markets that are less well controlled by PBoC.

Elsewhere, Donald Trump raised pressure on China by preparing a ban on Huawei's telecom giant to build 5G networks in the US.

2. Wall Street prepares to start in red

US stocks seem to be preparing for declines at the start of the session after rebounding yesterday from the heavy losses caused by the escalation of the war.

Speculation that the Fed could lower interest rates to balance weakness in the economy broke down Tuesday after John Williams and Esther George denied claims, with William commenting that rising tariffs would raise inflation.

3. Oil prices are recovered following the IEA's warning

Oil prices keep levels and try to recover after the International Energy Agency predicts that the world's oil market will go into deficit in the second quarter.

The risks to the supply side are compounded by increased tensions around the Middle East. Iran accused the United States of trying to get them into a war after Saudi Arabia commented about sabotaging their oil tankers and export pipelines earlier this week.

4. Last stand for May

Prime Minister Theresa May wants to return the bill to withdraw from the EU to parliament for the fourth time in June, in a final attempt to "deliver Brexit".

However, the effort seems to be doomed from the start. Interparliamentary talks with the opposition Labor Party have fought a fierce resistance from May's own party, undermining the confidence that any deal achieved now will continue in the future. Labor Deputy Leader John McDonnell said on Tuesday that the talks are near a collapse.

5. Microsoft warns of a bug

Microsoft warned that it found weakness in an old version of the Windows operating system that could be exploited by something similar to WannaCry Worm, which caused global chaos in 2017.

The company commented that it was not aware of a case in which anyone would take advantage of it for the moment, but said it was "very likely" that someone would try it now when the information is public. They added that they are working hard on the issue.

The news comes at a time when Intel and WhatsApp shared security issues with their products.

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