Market Update

Retail Sales in the US fell by 0.7% in December to $540.9 billion, the data published by the US Census Bureau showed on Friday. This reading followed November’s decline of 1.4% and came in worse than the market expectation of no-change.

Citigroup’s profits declined 7% in Q4 of 2020, but were much better than Wall Street analysts’ expectations, as the improved economic outlook allowed it to release cash that it had previously allocated for bad loans. The New York-based bank reported net profits of $4.63 billion, or $2.08 per share, down …

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and his government will resign over a childcare subsidy scandal that “drove thousands of families to financial ruin,” Reuters reported on Friday, according to local news agency NOS. There hasn’t yet been an official confirmation of this news at the time of press.

The US Energy Department said Thursday it plans to sell up to about 20 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, as dictated by two laws passed in 2015 and 2018. Both laws require the ministry to sell a little more than ten million barrels during the …

The National Health Commission of China said today, Friday, that mainland China recorded 144 new cases of the new Coronavirus on January 14, up from 138 cases the day before. The commission said in a statement that 135 of the new cases were local cases, including 90 in Hebei Province, …

JPMorgan announced its quarterly results (Q4 2020), which were better than expectations. Earnings per share: $3.79 per share, versus expectations of $2.62 per share, according to Refinitiv Revenue: $30.16 billion, versus forecast $28.70 billion

Weekly statistics on fund flows from Bank of America revealed that investors bought shares of financial companies and the energy sector last week, to initiate allocations in centres before US President-elect Joe Biden announced a stimulus package of $ 1.9 trillion. The US investment bank said, based on EPFR data, …

Gold rose as the appetite for the yellow metal as a hedge against inflation was strengthened thanks to a large US package to mitigate the repercussions of Covid-19, while prices also received support thanks to a stance that tends to facilitate monetary policy on the part of the Federal Reserve …

European stocks are heading to end the week with a cautious performance, as the prospect of tighter lockdown measures in Germany and France, as well as new restrictions to combat COVID-19 in China, dampen optimism about the global economic recovery. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.5%, heading to close …

Oil prices plunged as fears about Chinese cities being subjected to general isolation measures due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus curbed a rally driven by strong import data from the world’s largest crude consumer and US plans for a stimulus package. Brent fell 46 cents, or 0.8%, to $ …