Daily Market Review - 05/20/2014

Crude Oil

Market Overview

U.S. stocks rose on Monday, backed by M&A news between Biotech and Technology giants. Internet and biotech names have been among the most volatile in recent weeks, advancing on signs of economic improvement and slumping on valuation concerns.

On the Macro front, Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher and San Francisco Fed President John Williams both reinforced market expectations that the U.S. central bank is in no hurry to hike interest rates.

These comments supported market sentiment ahead of the FOMC minutes that is expected to go out on Wednesday.

At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow 30 rose 0.12%, the S&P 500 index rose 0.38%, while the NASDAQ Composite index rose 0.86%.

Asian shares struggled to remain positive on Tuesday following Geo political tension;

Thailand’s army declared martial law nationwide on Tuesday to restore order after six months of street protests left the country without a proper functioning government.

Meanwhile, violent anti-Chinese protests continued in Vietnam following a territorial dispute over the South China Sea.

While the United States charged five Chinese military officers and accused them of hacking into American nuclear, metal and solar companies to steal trade secrets, ratcheting up tensions between the two world powers over cyber espionage.

Later in the day, the UK is to publish data on its inflation while US key Fed officials are expected to speak.

The highly anticipated US Fed Minutes from their previous policy meeting is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, but are unlikely to give investors any solid clues about the timing of a U.S. interest rate hike.

Crude oil futures were higher on Monday, as concerns over a disruption to supplies from Russia and Libya supported prices.

The conflict between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces continued on over the weekend, stoking fears that the crisis will further develop and drag the U.S. deeper into the standoff.

Meanwhile, renewed concerns over Libya’s oil output further supported prices, following some of the worst violence the country has seen since 2011.

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