The California-based teleconferencing platform Zoom Video Communications Inc (NASDAQ: ZM) reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for its fiscal first quarter on Monday. Zoom ended the last quarter with 215,900 enterprise customers, up 9% from a year earlier. The company also increased its forecasted annual revenue due to the growth in hybrid work. Zoom shares initially rallied nearly 4% after the earnings announcement.  

• Earnings per share: $1.16 vs. $0.99 expected

• Revenue: $1.11 billion vs. $1.09 billion expected

"The solid start to the year has enabled us to raise our outlook for the fiscal year 2024, our customers see Zoom as mission-critical in how they collaborate internally and externally across the globe,” Zoom CEO Eric Yuan said.

EQUITIES

US stock futures extend losses after U.S. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's debt-ceiling meeting ended without a deal. If the debt ceiling is not increased, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has stated that the department will be unable to fulfil its financial obligations. The United States is "highly" at risk of defaulting on payments as early as June "If Congress fails to raise the debt limit", Janet Yellen warns again.

OIL

Crude oil prices trade flat as investors grew more cautious about placing aggressive bids ahead of FOMC minutes and the weekly crude inventory report to be announced tomorrow. On the other hand, investors also started to bet on more interest-rate hikes from the Federal Reserve following the hawkish comments from Fed’s Bullard and Kashkari.

CURRENCIES

In the currency market, EURUSD bears are firmly in control. On the macro side, US Dollar strength and hawkish signals from US Federal Reserve officials were the main bearish factors impacting the Euro. The currency pair has been moving lower since starting of this month, largely due to a broad strengthening in the US dollar.

GOLD

The rise in the dollar has been a setback for gold, which trades near the monthly lows. The Federal Reserve's hawkish remarks contributed to negative sentiment in the commodities market. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said on Monday that the United States may need to raise rates twice this year to contain stubbornly rising inflation.

Economic Outlook

On the data front, today all eyes are focused on the several purchasing managers surveys, countries such as Germany, the UK, the US, and the Eurozone. PMIs are significant as they tend to be reliable leading indicators of growth. A reading above 50 indicates expansion while a sub-50 print indicates contraction in the sector surveyed. UK, Eurozone, and Germany already published weaker-than-expected manufacturing PMI data a few hours back.

Moving ahead today, the important events to watch:

US – Manufacturing and services PMI: GMT – 13:45

US – New home sales: GMT – 14.00

Technical Outlook and Review

EURUSD: For today, the resistance for the EUR/USD appears to be around 1.0840. If the price break and closes above 1.0840, the next level to watch is 1.0870 then 1.0900. On the downside, if the pair breaks below 1.0790 the next immediate downside area to watch is near 1.0760.

The important levels to watch for today: Support- 1.0780 and 1.0760 Resistance- 1.0810 and 1.0840.

GOLD: The precious metal remains under pressure a clear breakdown of the support at $1950 could open space for further declines while only recovery to $1990 would reverse the short-term negative trend.

The important levels to watch for today: Support- 1950 and 1944 Resistance- 1964 and 1970.

Quote of the day – “Speculation is an effort, probably unsuccessful, to turn a little money into a lot. Investment is an effort, which should be successful, to prevent a lot of money from becoming a little.” – Fred Schwed.