U. S. economic data in addition to corporate earnings reports and a number of positive developments had impact on the U. S. session Wednesday. The negotiations regarding the federal budget plan bill between the White House and the Congress is among the factors that led to a positive market performance.
Gold prices have tried to hold on humble gains impacted by economic data showing steady momentum in the U.S. manufacturing sector.
U.S. durable goods orders declined by 0.4% in September, following August’s increase of 1.3%. The data was better than expected; namely a decline of 1.1%.
Excluding transportation, new orders rose by 0.4% the government said, in line with expectations. The latest data does not relieve concerns about stagflation, or economic activity slowdown. The gold market has seen little reaction to the mixed economic data.
December gold futures last traded at $1,794.20 an ounce, relatively unchanged during Wednesday’s session.
The Bank of Canada released its interest rate statement and fiscal policy decisions that surprised the markets and eventually pushed the Canadian dollar higher.
Markets are awaiting the European Central Bank meeting amid expectations that it will not change anything in terms of European monetary policy. Statements by the President of the Central Bank of Governors after the announcement of the interest decision are also awaited by investors, traders and economists.
Economic Data
Data of Durable Goods Orders Index was released indicating good performance last September. Despite the decline in the durable goods orders, the Index managed to achieve higher figures than market estimates.
The durable goods orders index declined by -0.4% compared to the previous reading, which recorded an increase of 1.3%, namely higher than expectations of decline to -1.1.
Other Developments
The Bank of Canada announced the asset purchase program that it has been following since last year with the aim of supporting and enhancing the performance of the economy during the pandemic era.
The Bank of Canada announced that it may resort to accelerating the rate hike next year faster than it was scheduled earlier.
Q3 Corporate earnings reports were announced on Wednesday indicating that most of the relevant companies achieved profits that exceeded expectations.
The Coca-Cola Company’s profits and returns exceeded expectations according to the financial performance report issued after the closing bell on Wednesday.
Ford Motor Company’s profit was about double the figure indicated by market expectations, according to the company’s report on financial performance in the third quarter of 2021.
Boeing joined a very short list of companies that suffered losses in the third quarter of 2021. e-Bay achieved profits that exceeded market expectations, but the company’s revenue expectations in the fourth quarter of this year fell, according to the financial performance report issued on Wednesday.
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