Market Update

Oil prices fell on Friday, but remained close to the nine-month peak they reached in the previous session, as rising Covid-19 cases put pressure on demand for fuel and US lawmakers are fighting over a $900 billion economic stimulus package. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 17 cents, or …

The headline German IFO Business Climate Index came in at 92.1 in December, stronger than last month’s 90.7 while beating the consensus estimates pointing to a reading of 90.0. Meanwhile, the Current Economic Assessment arrived at 91.3 points in the reported month as compared to last month’s 90.0 and 89.0 …

Gold prices retreated as the dollar rebounded after growing hopes of approval of stimulus in the United States led gold to rise for three days, putting the yellow metal on the path of achieving gains for the third week in a row. And gold in spot transactions fell 0.1% to …

Japan’s Nikkei index closed lower on Friday on concerns about the risks that a surge in COVID-19 cases in Tokyo posed to the prospects for a recovery in the world’s third-largest economy, but the index made weekly gains. The Nikkei index lost 0.16% to 26,763.39 points, while the broader TOPIX …

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) closed Thursday at new record highs, supported by hopes for a new stimulus package in the United States, with Wall Street maintaining an upbeat sentiment on vaccine rollout. This comes following the last Federal Reserve meeting of the year, in which the American central …

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.