Market Update

Canada’s retail sales increased by 4.8% to $55.1 billion in February, data showed on Wednesday. Core retail sales rose by 3.8% in February, registering its first monthly increase after two consecutive declines, according to data by Statistics Canada. A preliminary reading for March indicate a 2.3% increase. In volume terms, …

The United States trade balance of goods registered an increase in its deficit during March, for the third consecutive month, data showed on Wednesday. The goods trade deficit increased by 4% to reach a new record high of $90.6 billion last month, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Wholesale inventories in the United States rose by in March, data showed on Wednesday. Early estimates show that U.S. wholesale inventories increased by 1.4% last month, while retail inventories declined by 1.4%.

The German government on Tuesday (April 27th) increased its forecast for the growth of Europe’s largest economy this year to 3.5%, from a previous estimate of 3%, while it expects household spending to support the recovery if the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. Germany is striving to contain a third wave …

Microsoft announced its third-quarter fiscal year results that achieved the largest revenue growth since 2018. The company’s shares fell in post-closing trading by more than 3.5%. Earnings per share reached $ 1.95, compared to the expected $ 1.78. While the company achieved revenues of 41.71 billion dollars compared to 41.03 …

A court in Brussels has begun hearing a lawsuit filed by the European Commission against the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca over supplies of its Covid-19 vaccine, as the cartel’s lawyers are pressing for immediate delivery of doses from all factories, including those in Britain. The case is the latest turning point …

Oil prices fell on Wednesday, April 28, in light of the rapid spread of Covid-19 cases in India and an increase that exceeded expectations for crude stocks in the United States, which overshadowed the confidence shown by OPEC and its allies in the strong recovery of global demand for fuel. …

The Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in televised remarks on Tuesday, that the kingdom is in discussions to sell one percent of Saudi Aramco to a global energy company. Prince Mohammed added that Aramco, the world’s largest oil company that was listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange in 2019, …

The dollar rose slightly on Wednesday as all eyes turned to the US Federal Reserve’s policy statement and a speech by President Joe Biden later on Wednesday regarding trends in hopes that this will increase the scope for the currency’s recovery after a month of decline. The dollar index recorded …

Gold prices fell to their lowest level in a week on Wednesday, April 28, with US Treasury yields rising ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy statement due for release later today. And the price of gold in the spot market fell 0.5% to $1767.66 an ounce after it …