Market Update

The U.S. manufacturing sector continues to show some improvement signs, as shown by the results of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond survey, released on Tuesday. The Fifth District Survey of Manufacturing Activity’s composite index rose in July to 27 from 26 in June. The reading shows that manufacturing activity …

U.S. consumer confidence improved in July, reaching its best level in about 17 months, returning to its level before the coronavirus pandemic, data showed on Tuesday. The improvement comes despite concerns about the resurgence of the pandemic with the spread of the Delta variant. The consumer confidence index rose to …

The Housing Price Index released by the US Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) arrived at +1.7% in May following April’s increase of 1.8%. This reading fell short of the market expectation of 1.8%.

Durable Goods Orders in the United States rose by 0.8%, or $2.1 billion, to $257.6 billion in June, the data published by the US Census Bureau revealed on Tuesday. This reading came in weaker than the market expectation for an increase of 2.1% and followed May’s 3.2% expansion.

Data for the retail sector showed that British retailers slowed slightly in July after sales growth hit its highest level in nearly three years in June, the first full month after the reopening of non-essential stores that were closed due to the Coronavirus. The CBI sales volume index fell compared …

The dollar’s march towards a 3-1/2-month high was halted on Tuesday, July 27th as risk appetite weakened, while the Australian dollar suffered from further tightening of regulation in China. The dollar index recorded 92.73, approaching the highest level since early April, 93.19, which is recorded on July 21. The dollar …

Oil prices stabilized on Tuesday, July 27, as investors bet that tight supply and growing vaccination rates would ease demand from the rise in Covid-19 cases around the world. Brent crude futures were up one cent at $74.51 a barrel. And US intermediate crude contracts fell eight cents, or 0.1%, …

Shares in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed in trading Tuesday, July 27, as several major Chinese technology stocks in Hong Kong remained under pressure after falling on Monday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 4.64% in afternoon trade, after falling more than 4% on Monday on the back of regulatory concerns …

Earnings growth for industrial firms in China slowed for the fourth consecutive month, as higher raw material prices squeezed factory margins, suggesting some weakness in the world’s second-largest economy’s recovery. Profits of industrial companies rose 20% year on year in June to 791.8 billion yuan, or about $122.27 billion, according …

Amazon has denied reports that it accepts payments in cryptocurrency and bitcoin. There was news about the company opening jobs on blockchain development, accepting cryptocurrencies as a form of payment. The cryptocurrency rose strongly to the psychologically important level of $40,000, but the company quickly denied this news, dropping Bitcoin …