Financial Markets Daily Report22 May 2026
Yesterday's session had a rather quiet tone on mixed signals, as sources in Iran announced that differences between the counterparts in the Middle East conflict were beginning to shrink, although there were no advances on Iran's nuclear programme. Brent prices fell by more than 2%, while natural gas closed flat.
On the macro front, PMI indices for May were published in the US and the euro area. In the US, the composite index came in line with expectations, while the manufactures subindex surprised to the upside (55.3 vs 53.8 expected). The euro area remained in contraction territory as expected, with a sharp surprise to the downside in France (43.5 vs 47.7 expected).
Government bond yields were barely moved, with a slight flattening of the curves on both sides of the Atlantic. Currency markets movements were subdued, with all crosses between major currencies closing flat. Equity markets fell in the euro area while slightly advancing in the US, chaining gains for a second consecutive session after a bad start of the week.