The DOW Jones, NASDAQ, and S&P 500, the main US stock indices, edged down on Monday. Overall, it was a calm day in the market due to the lack of fundamentals. The US stock indices have retraced up well enough. Therefore, a new downtrend is likely to emerge this week. Tomorrow, the United States will see the release of inflation data. At this point, it does not matter whether the inflation rate accelerates or slows down. The Federal Reserve will increase the interest rate by 0.5% in June and July anyway. In addition, the US central bank will start the reduction of its balance sheet under the QT program (qualitative tightening). In this light, the stock market is likely to extend the downtrend.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson survived a no-confidence vote on Monday. Several months ago, he faced a barrage of criticism over allegations that there were parties in Downing Street during the lockdown. The Ukrainian conflict somewhat distracted the attention of British society to the prime minister. Nevertheless, his fellow party members thought Johnson could no longer be their leader with 54 Tory MPs submitting letters of no confidence. Yesterday, Johnson faced a vote of no confidence in his leadership of the Conservative party. To survive a challenge to his leadership and stay in office, he needed to win the support of at least 180 Tory MPs. Overall, 148 MPs voted against Johnson, while 211 showed their support for the prime minister. Thus, Boris Johnson's victory in Monday's vote means he cannot face another no-confidence motion for a year, securing his leadership. Anyway, the voting results are still seen as no good for the prime minister. As a reminder, in 2018, more MPs backed Theresa May when Brexit negotiations stalled. Therefore, it can be assumed that Johnson's popularity has dramatically declined within the Conservative Party. In this light, it remains to be seen whether he can win the next election.
