Market Update

European stocks closed Friday on small gains, with anticipation for the results of the European Union’s (EU) summit, which is set to discuss the economic stimulus package to help the bloc’s troubled economies due to the COVID-19 crisis. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index increased by 0.15% to settle at 372.70, …

The USD/CAD pair has stabilized on Friday, with the Canadian Dollar (CAD) supported by the increase in wholesale sales, while the US Dollar (USD) is supported by the rise in housing starts, despite a retreat in the consumer sentiment. During today’s trade, the pair has reached a high of 1.35892 …

The University Of Michigan Survey Of Consumers showed that the consumer sentiment index declined in the first half of July due to the widespread resurgence of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). After the index increased in June, its reading was reversed, leaving the sentiment index in early July insignificantly above the …

Wholesale sales in Canada increased over the month of May by 5.7% to $52.6 billion, data by Statistics Canada showed on Friday. This comes after wholesales sales fell during April, due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), by 21.4%. However, May’s reading missed market expectations which suggested an …

Key Wall Street indices are set to open higher on Friday, as investors optimistic about more official stimulus to push the post-epidemic economic recovery even with record numbers increasing in COVID-19 cases. Dow e-minis were up 157 points, or 0.59%. S&P 500 e-minis were up 21.5 points or 0.67% and …

The consumer price index (CPI) in the Eurozone increased during June by 0.3%, as shown by data from Eurostat. The rise in inflation rate to 0.3%, comes after it neared a four-year low of 0.1% in May. The European Central Bank (ECB) continues to target an inflation rate in the …

EU leaders are meeting Friday and Saturday in Brussels to discuss the recovery plan to respond to the COVID-19 crisis and a new long-term EU budget. This is the first physical meeting since the coronavirus pandemic started. The meeting will be dedicated to discussing the multiannual budget of the EU …

Bank of England (BoE) Governor Andrew Bailey said on Friday that the “financial markets indicate that interest rates will remain very low.” “People can see that we are committed to keeping markets stable via quantitative easing,” Bailey said, adding that “there is a legitimate question about what we do with …

The national lockdown in the UK was undoubtedly the right thing to do, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reiterated on Friday. Quotes“We can now control the virus through targeted local lockdowns.”“We are publishing framework for containing future outbreaks.”“Local authorities will be given new powers from tomorrow.”“Ministers will be able to …

The bank’s Survey of Professional Forecasters showed on Friday showed on Friday that the Eurozone economy may contract this year less than what the European Central Bank (ECB) expected and may recover faster. The quarterly survey sees the economy shrinking by 8.3% this year, a downgrade from its May projection …