Market Update

Oil prices registered modest gains on Thursday, following strong losses yesterday to their lowest level in a week due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. Brent crude futures for June delivery rose by 8 cents, or 0.1%, to close at $65.40 per barrel. Meanwhile, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude …

Gold prices closed Thursday lower, declining for the first time in three sessions, following a surge to their highest level in about two months on Wednesday. Gold futures for June delivery declined by $11.10, or 0.6%, to finish at $1,782 per ounce. Meanwhile, silver futures for May delivery lost 39 …

European stocks registered gains on Thursday, nearing their record highs, supported by a number of positive earnings reports by some major listed companies and following the European Central Bank’s decision to maintain its policy unchanged. The STOXX Europe 600 index rose for the second consecutive day, finishing higher by 0.68%, …

New initial jobless claims in the United States declined to their lowest level in 13 months last week, data showed on Thursday. The number of U.S. citizens who applied for unemployment benefits declined by 39,000 to a seasonally adjusted level of 547,000 in the week ended April 17. This is …

Home sales in the United States declined to their lowest level in about seven months during March, falling by 3.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.01 million units. This is the lowest reading for the indicator since August 2020, according to data by the National Association of Realtors …

Consumer confidence continues to improve in April, according to a flash estimate by the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). Data released on Thursday showed that the consumer confidence indicator for the European Union (EU) improved by 3.1 points to -9.0 points, while the gauge for …

The number of Canadians receiving regular employment insurance benefits increased by 3.6%, or 53,000, to 1.5 million people in February, data showed on Thursday. The reading follows an 11.2% increase in January, according to data by Statistics Canada. The Labour Force Survey (LFS) showed that employment increased by 259,000 in February, following two months …

Canada’s New Housing Price Index (NHPI) rose by 7.9% on an annual basis during March, data by Statistics Canada showed on Thursday. On a monthly basis, the index increased by 1.1%. “The strong demand for new houses, fueled by lower borrowing costs and work from home restrictions, continued pushing up …

The European Central Bank (ECB) decided on Thursday to maintain its monetary policy unchanged, by holding interest rates at their current levels. The deposit rate stands at -0.5%, while the main refinancing rate remains at 0%. In addition, the ECB decided to keep the current pace of asset purchases at …

Floods into cryptocurrency funds and products reached $ 4.9 billion by April 16, data from CoinShares, the cryptocurrency manager, reported on Tuesday, with the pace of the increase slowing somewhat in the first two weeks of the month after reaching unprecedented levels in the first quarter of the year. The …