Market Update

European stocks finished higher on Thursday, supported by an improved investors’ sentiment following the release of positive economic data. The STOXX Europe 600 index finished higher by 0.67% at 432.49 points, on the back of a 2% rise by the technology sector. Earlier today, data showed that the manufacturing activity …

The U.S. Dollar (USD) declines across the board on Thursday, after data showed a rise in jobless claims in the United States, prompting concerns about the pace of economic recovery from the impacts of the Coronavirus pandemic. The Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the greenback’s performance against a basket of …

Natural gas inventories in the United States increased by 14 billion cubic feet (bcf) last week, according to data by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The EIA weekly report showed on Thursday that natural gas supplies reached 1.764 trillion cubic feet, decreasing by 225 bcf compared with the same …

The business activity in the US manufacturing sector grew at its strongest pace since 1983 with the ISM Manufacturing PMI rising to 64.7 in March from 60.8. This reading came in better than the market expectation of 61.3.

The business activity in Canada’s manufacturing sector continued to expand at a robust pace in March with the IHS Markit Manufacturing PMI rising to 58.5 from 54.8 in February.

Planned job cuts in the US-based employers dropped to 30,603 in March from 34,531 in February, Challenger Gray & Christmas announced in its latest Job Cut Report on Thursday. This reading represented an 86% decline from the 222,288 job cuts announced in the same month last year when businesses were …

There were 719,000 initial claims for unemployment benefits in the US during the week ending March 27, the data published by the US Department of Labor (DOL) revealed on Thursday. This reading followed the previous print of 658,000 (revised from 684,000) and came in worse than the market expectation of …

Copper fell to its lowest level in six weeks below $4 a pound, weighed by worries about demand from consuming China as well as supply disruptions after the Caixin survey showed that Chinese manufacturing activity in March expanded unexpectedly at the slowest pace in nearly a year. Copper prices fell …

The monthly growth of factory activities in the euro area increased at the fastest pace in the history of an important survey of companies extending to nearly 24 years last month, but disruptions in supply chains and renewed general isolation measures in the region may curb activity soon. With Europe …

The UK manufacturing sector activity quickened its pace of expansion in the month of March, the final report from IHS Markit confirmed on Thursday. The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) was revised higher to 58.9 in March versus 57.9 expected and 57.9 first readout.