Market Update

Oil prices finished higher on Thursday, maintaining their best level in about nine months, supported by positive news about the rollout of Coronavirus vaccines. Today marked the fourth consecutive daily gain for crude futures, amid anticipation for a new stimulus package in the United States. Brent crude futures for February …

Gold prices rose on Thursday, amid a strong decline by the US Dollar (USD) after the release of the Federal Reserve policy statement, which vowed to continue easing the monetary policy. Gold futures for February delivery added $31.30, or 1.7%, to close at $1,890.40 per ounce. The yellow metal futures …

European stocks closed higher on Thursday, one day after the United States Federal Reserve vowed to maintain its policy in support of the economy in the face of the Coronavirus crisis. The pan-European STOXX 600 index finished higher by 0.4%, supported by a strong performance by the majority of market …

Housing starts and building permits in the United States increased during November, signaling the strength of the housing market, data by the US Department of Commerce showed on Thursday. Housing starts increased by 1.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.547 million units in November. On an annual basis, …

There were 885,000 initial claims for unemployment benefits in the US during the week ending December 12th, the data published by the US Department of Labor (DOL) revealed on Thursday. This reading followed last week’s print of 862,000 and missed the market expectation of 800,000 by a wide margin.

Ozlem Tureci, the chief physician at BioNTech, said that about 140,000 people in Britain had received the vaccine, which the company manufactured in cooperation with the American Pfizer, to prevent Covid-19 disease, adding that the evaluation of side effects and tolerance is reassuring. Britain was the first country to agree …

The Bank of England’s (BoE) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to leave the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.10% at its December policy meeting and kept the Asset Purchase Facility steady at £895 billion.

The dollar hit its lowest level in two and a half years against major rival currencies on Thursday (December 17th), as risk appetite was boosted by progress towards agreement on a stimulus package in the United States and an accord linked to Britain’s exit from the European Union. On Wednesday, …

Bitcoin rose to a record high one day after it crossed the $20,000 mark for the first time, amid growing interest in it from major investors. The world’s most prominent cryptocurrency jumped 10.5% to 23,655 dollars, to exceed its gains this year 220%, supported by a request from large investors …

European shares remained at their highest level in ten months Thursday, December 17th, as hopes for more stimulus in the United States and possible distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in Europe boosted expectations for a global economic recovery. The German DAX index rose 1.1% to reach its highest level since February, …