Market Commentaries

US equity markets closed the week out down during last Friday’s New York trading session. Investors and analysts took on board data revealing that both US consumer sentiment and retail sales are falling. Retail sales in the US slumped by -0.7% in December, after the -1.7% fall in November. The highly respected University of Michigan […]

Germany’s economy contracted -5% during 2020 according to the final GDP statistics published on Thursday morning. The contraction beat the news agency forecasts which predicted a metric of up to -5.7%. The negative reading is entirely due to the COVID-19 virus, and for context, Germany only chipped in with 0.6% GDP growth in 2019. The

Two high impact economic data affected the value of USD during the trading sessions of Wednesday 13. Inflation (CPI) came in at 1.4% annually due to a 0.4% rise month on month, an 8.4% gasoline cost rise for consumers was the main driver for the increase. The Federal budget balance beat the forecasts made by

The US dollar fell versus most of its peers during the Tuesday, January 12 trading sessions. The dollar index (DXY) gave back most of the gains recorded so far during 2021 to end the day trading -0.39% down but up 0.21% year-to-date. In a negatively correlated trading pattern, cable (GBP/USD) traded up 0.91% as the

US equity indices fell from last week’s record highs, apparently due to investors finally beginning to question quoted firms’ fundamental valuations as analysts start to audit earnings during the approaching earnings’ season. The SPX 500 fell by -0.52% and the DJIA 30 only -0.29%. These are modest falls relative to the record-breaking streak all major

COVID-19 will continue to dominate the headlines over the next few weeks. Several countries have reverted to versions of the strict lockdowns they first implemented in March and April 2020. However, the US, UK and European nations are pinning their hopes on the success of mass vaccination to eradicate the virus from global society. The

The NASDAQ 100 rose by 2.35% during Thursday’s New York session, coming close to a record high and threatening to breach the 13,000 round number level for the first time in its history. The SPX 500 printed a record high, breaking through the 3,800 level-handle for the first time and trading 1.51% up at 3804.

UK stocks closed 3.47% up on Wednesday, January 6 after energy and banking stocks rose considerably due to the recent OPEC agreement restricted oil production and post-Brexit optimism for the banking sector. The Markit services figure rising to 49.4 for December also helped to support the bullish sentiment. Because of the FTSE 100 rise, GBP/USD

WTI crude oil futures breached $50 per barrel for the first time since February 2020 and rose by 4.68% during Tuesday’s trading sessions. Major oil producers agreed to maintain existing oil output levels into February and March. Saudi Arabia agreed to a production cut, while Russia and Kazakhstan have raised. Copper, often regarded as the

European and US equity markets experienced volatile trading conditions during Monday’s trading sessions. The reasons were various. The leading UK index the FTSE 100 enjoyed a significant rise during the London open due to Brexit fears fading and optimism regarding the start of the Astra Zeneca Oxford vaccine rollout given to the most vulnerable and