Market Update

Retail Sales in Canada fell by 5.7% on a monthly basis in April, the data published by Statistics Canada showed on Wednesday. This reading followed March’s increase of 3.6% and came in worse than the market expectation for a contraction of 5%.

Gold prices rose on Wednesday, June 23, after US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell pledged to keep interest rates near zero for some time, bringing the dollar to near its lowest level in a week. Spot gold rose 0.2% to $1,782.46 an ounce, and gold futures in the United States …

Oil topped $75 a barrel on Wednesday, hitting its highest since late 2018 after an industry report on crude inventories in the United States bolstered views of tight supplies in the market as travel grew in Europe and North America. Two market sources told Reuters that the American Petroleum Institute …

A survey showed that business activities in the eurozone grew at the fastest pace in 15 years this month, as the easing of public isolation measures and the release of demand led to a boom in the services sector that dominates the bloc. The preliminary reading of the IHS Markit …

The Japanese Nikkei index weakened on Wednesday, June 23rd, as gains in chip-related heavyweights, which tracked Wall Street yesterday, offset losses in the pharmaceutical industry. Nikkei rose 0.03% to close at 28,874.89 points, after witnessing the largest increase since 2021 on Tuesday, while the broader Topix index fell 0.53% to …

The Eurozone manufacturing sector activity boosted its pace of expansion in the reported month, the latest manufacturing activity survey from IHS/Markit research showed on Wednesday. The manufacturing purchasing managers index remained steady at 63.1 in June and beat 62.1 expectations. Services PMI jumped to 41-month highs of 58.0 in June …

The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) eased to 64.2 in June versus 64.0 expected and 65.6 – May’s final reading.

The U.S. Dollar (USD) showed a mostly negative performance on Tuesday, turning to losses against major peers after recent remarks by the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell. The Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the greenback against a basket of six international currencies, declined by about 0.18% to 91.73, …

Crude oil inventories in the United States fell by 7.2 million barrels last week, according to estimates by the American Petroleum Institute (API). Meanwhile, the stockpiles of gasoline and distillates rose by 959,000 and 992,000 barrels, respectively. Crude stocks at the storage hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, decreased by about 2.6 …

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) closed Tuesday with modest gains, while the Nasdaq index finished at a new record-high closing level. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 68.61 points, or 0.20%, to close at 33,945.58 points. The S&P 500 rose by 21.65 points, or 0.51%, and finished at 4,246.44. …