Market Update

European stocks finished lower on Monday, opening the third week of May with a negative performance, as stock markets remain impacted by concerns over the surge in consumer inflation in the United States, which led to expectations of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates. The pan-European STOXX 600 index finished …

The United States Federal Reserve Vice Chair, Richard Clarida, said on Monday that economic growth could exceed 6% and reach 7% in 2021, as he spoke to an event organized by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. The Fed’s Vice Chair believes the rise in inflation is temporary and that …

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) opened lower on Monday, beginning the week with a relatively negative performance, following last week’s performance that was the worst in Wall Street in about three months. Recent selling pressures due to fears about the rise in inflation rates have negatively impacted stock prices. …

The confidence of homebuilders in the United States stabilized, supported by the low-interest rates amid increasing construction costs due to the rising inflation rates. The home builders’ confidence index registered a reading of 83 this month, according to data by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) released on Monday. …

Housing starts in Canada declined by 19.8% in April, compared with their level in March, data showed on Monday. The decline comes due to the drop in building activity in urban areas, according to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The seasonally adjusted annualized rate of housing starts reached …

Home sales in Canada declined by 12.5% last month, according to data released by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) on Monday. Meanwhile, the average selling price decreased by 2.9% in April on a monthly basis, reaching CAD 696,000. On the other hand, the average selling price rose by 41.9% …

Oil prices moved within a limited range today, Monday, after concerns about supplies subsided to support the recovery of a major US pipeline network, but the imposition of new restrictions in Asia amid the escalation of Covid-19 cases affected sentiment. The gasoline shortage plaguing the east coast of the United …

Chinese factory production growth slowed in April from the jump in the previous month, while retail sales fell below analysts’ expectations, indicating that the recovery in consumption is coming under more pressure. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday showed that industrial production grew 9.8% in April compared …

Oil prices finished higher on Friday, managing to register their third consecutive weekly rise. A recent downstream disruption in the United States that resulted from an attack on the Colonial Pipeline, which led to fears about a drop in the demand for crude oil by refineries, appears to be at …

Gold prices rose on Friday, as the U.S. Dollar (USD) declined, further increasing their second consecutive weekly gains. The yellow metal futures managed to finish the week at their best level in about three months. It is worth noting that a recent surge in Treasury bond yields, due to fears …