Market Update

The S&P 500 slumped back below the 4500 level on Thursday, dropping over 2.0% on the day. Equity market sentiment took a battering after dour earnings guidance from tech giant Meta Platforms (Facebook). Focus has shifted to Amazon earnings after the closing bell and Friday’s US jobs report. Major US …

Gold has found some bidders again after a quick but short trip to the downside on Thursday. At $1,805, the yellow metal is about flat again on the day as traders now get their sights on Friday’s Nonfarm Payrolls data. Gold was hit hard on the back of a spike …

GBP/USD bulls take a breather around a fortnight high surrounding 1.3600, during the sixth positive day amid Friday’s Asian session. Earlier, on Thursday, at 1.3605, GBP/USD off its highs of the day by is still positive by some 0.23% following the Bank of England that raised interest rates to 0.5% …

The USD/CAD has traded in a relatively directionless fashion on Thursday, initially strengthening towards above 1.2700 as the Canadian dollar weakened in tandem with an earnings-driven downturn in global equities, but more recently dropping back to the 1.2675 area on rising oil prices.At current levels, the pair is back to …

Omicron put a massive bump in the road to America’s recovery this winter. The first signs of trouble could show up in the January jobs report on Friday, 4 February. Goldman Sachs cites survey data indicating a surge in absenteeism during the month to expect Omicron-led temporary declines in the …

European Central Bank policymakers see a policy change at the March meeting if inflation does ease, said sources speaking to Reuters.The sources said that policymakers see a faster pace of tapering of the Asset Purchase Programme (APP) as its first point of call to fight higher inflation. According to the …

According to the final version of IHS Markit’s Services PMI survey, the headline index was 51.2 in January, above the flash estimate for a 50.9 reading. The final Composite PMI came in 51.1 in January, also above the flash reading of 50.8. January US PMI Composite Index (Final): 51.1 vs. …

It was Central Banks Day today and there are several drivers for the markets. The Bank of England announced its monetary policy decision on Thursday and raised the benchmark interest rate by 25bps to 0.50%. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 5-4 in favor of a 25 bps rate hike. …

The European Central Bank opted to leave its deposit rate unchanged at -0.5% on Thursday as unanimously expected. The bank maintained its guidance on interest rates, saying they would remain at present or lower levels until the conditions for a rate hike have been met. The bank also reaffirmed its …

The Bank of England announced its monetary policy decision on Thursday and raised the benchmark interest rate by 25bps to 0.50%. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 5-4 in favour of the rate hike. The decision was in line with market expectations and marked the first back-to-back rises since 2004. …