Oil Prices Mixed In Choppy Trade

Oil prices were mixed in choppy trade on Friday after surveys showed the euro zone’s recovery from its pandemic-induced economic downturn was much stronger than expected in April.

Brent crude for June delivery slipped 0.2 percent to $65.30 per barrel, giving up early gains. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) U.S. crude futures were up 0.2 percent at $61.52 a barrel.

Economic growth is picking up in Europe, raising hopes that fuel demand will recover.

The flash reading of the IHS Markit Eurozone composite purchasing managers’ index rose to a nine-month high of 53.7 in April from 53.2 in March.

Strong retail and PMI figures from the U.K. also suggested that the global economy is well positioned for a speedy recovery from the pandemic.

On the flipside, oil demand concerns in India and Japan due to rising Covid cases are capping the upside in oil prices.

India and Japan are the world’s third and fourth largest oil importers.

India recorded over 3 lakh cases for the second straight day today, clocking 3,32,730 cases in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry said.

With this, India’s trend of registering the world’s highest daily tally continues, pushing the country’s total infection count to 16,263,695 cases.

Several countries, including Australia, Britain, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates have barred or cut flights from India.

In Japan, officials are looking at a state of emergency for Osaka and Tokyo to curb the spread.

Gold Flat To Higher In Lackluster Trade

Gold inched higher on Friday and headed for a third straight weekly gain on the back of lower Treasury yields and a weakening U.S. dollar.

Spot gold edged up 0.1 percent to $1,786.08 an ounce and was on track for 0.5 percent gain this week. U.S. gold futures were up 0.2 percent at $1,786.25.

Benchmark 10-year note yields held at 1.552 percent in overnight trading, the lowest since mid-March, as investors looked to the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting next week for directional cues.

Despite recent signs of strength in the world’s largest economy, Fed Chair Jerome Powell is likely to repeat ECB President Lagarde’s message that talk of tapering is premature.

The U.S. dollar was down against major counterparts after reports emerged that the Biden administration is planning to hike the capital gains tax to 39.6 percent from 20 percent for those earning $1 million or more.

The administration is expected to release the proposal next week as part of the tax increase to fund social spending in the upcoming “American Families Plan” worth around $1 trillion.

U.S. new home sales data for March will be published later in the day. New home sales are forecast to climb by 14.3 percent to an annual rate of 886,000 in March after plummeting by 18.2 percent to a rate of 775,000 in February.

Surveys released earlier in the day showed the euro zone’s recovery from its pandemic-induced economic downturn was much stronger than expected in April.

Kimberly-Clark Trims FY21 Outlook – Quick Facts

While reporting financial results for the first quarter on Friday, consumer products firm Kimberly-Clark Corp. (KMB) trimmed its adjusted earnings and sales growth guidance for the full-year 2021.

For fiscal 2021, the company now projects adjusted earnings in a range of $7.30 to $7.55 per share on net sales growth of 3 to 5 percent, with organic sales growth of flat to 1 percent.

Previously, the company expected adjusted earnings in the range of $7.75 to $8.00 per share on net sales growth of 4 to 6 percent, with organic sales growth of 1 to 2 percent.

On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report earnings of $7.75 per share on sales growth of 4.4 percent to $19.98 billion for the year. Analysts’ estimates usually exclude special items.

Kimberly-Clark said it expects the global restructuring program initiated in January 2018 to be completed in 2021. As part of the program, Kimberly-Clark expects to exit or divest some low-margin businesses that generate about 1 percent of company net sales.

The company also expects total restructuring charges to be $2.0 billion to $2.1 billion pre-tax or $1.49 billion to $1.57 billion after tax. It will also generate annual pre-tax cost savings of $540 million to $560 million by the end of 2021.

Honeywell Boosts FY21 Outlook – Quick Facts

While reporting financial results for the first quarter on Friday, technology company Honeywell international Inc. (HON) raised its adjusted earnings and sales guidance for the full-year 2021, based on the first-quarter performance and management’s outlook for the remainder of the year.

For fiscal 2020, the company now projects adjusted earnings in a range of $7.75 to $8.00 per share on sales between $34.0 billion and $34.8 billion, representing a year-over-year organic sales growth of 3 to 5 percent.

Previously, the company expected adjusted earnings in the range of $7.60 to $8.00 per share on sales between $33.4 billion and $34.4 billion, representing a year-over-year organic sales growth of 1 to 4 percent.

On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report earnings of $7.90 per share on sales of $34.33 billion for the year. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.

Why was the launch delayed one day?

The Crew-2 launch had been set for Thursday morning, and weather at the launchpad was favorable. But mission managers had to also take into account conditions in the Atlantic Ocean where the Crew Dragon capsule would splash down if something went wrong during launch. There, NASA and SpaceX decided, the winds and waves were too high.

The weather report for Friday morning foresees a 95 percent chance of favorable conditions at the Kennedy Space Center. Conditions in the Atlantic are predicted to be better than on Thursday.

Should Friday’s launch be postponed, SpaceX can try again on Monday.