Market Update

After Microsoft exceeded expectations, technology firms helped lift U.S. markets higher. The S&P 500 was up 0.2% and the NASDAQ Composite was up 0.7% as of 13:47 GMT, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 52 points, or 0.2%. After Microsoft Corporation posted better-than-anticipated results for the quarter and …

An higher quarterly sales rate helped ease concerns that a sector slowdown could extend into the following year, according to British homebuilder Persimmon Plc, which stated on Wednesday that it intends to build homes at the top end of its annual guidance range. The British housing industry has shown indications …

The German government has raised its economic growth forecast for this year to 0.4% from a previously predicted 0.2%, according to its spring economic projections published on Wednesday and first reported by Reuters last week. “A gradual recovery is underway, despite a persistently difficult environment,” Germany Economy Minister Robert Habeck …

Britain’s largest competition regulator has moved to block Microsoft’s acquisition of video game publisher Activision Blizzard, in a painful blow to the US tech giant. Microsoft announced its intention to acquire Activision Blizzard in January 2022 for $69 billion, in one of the largest deals the video game sector has …

European stocks fell on Wednesday, tracking losses on Wall Street overnight, after recession fears resurfaced in the United States after gloomy data erased the initial optimism sparked by strong results from tech giants Microsoft and Alphabet. The European 600 index fell 0.4 percent by 0710 GMT, dragged down by technology …

Oil prices rose in early Asian trading on Wednesday after data from the sector showed a significant drop in crude oil inventories ahead of government data. Brent crude rose 16 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $80.93 a barrel by 0006 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 25 cents, …

Gold price advanced and printed a new weekly high at around $2003, though it faltered to hold its gains above the $2000 mark. Deteriorated risk appetite fueled by worries about the US banking system, and a surge in investments in safe-haven assets. As a result, after reaching a low of …

Gold prices have recovered modest overnight losses and are holding slight gains in early US trading session on Tuesday. Gold is seeing some buying interest from bargain hunters buying the dip and as US Treasury yields have declined a bit this week. At the time of typing, gold is trading …

On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden threatened to veto legislation that would tie support for raising the debt ceiling to significant spending cuts. The White House declared that it opposed the bill and that “the President has been clear that he will not accept such attempts at hostage-taking.” The legislation …

The USD/CAD currency pair gained on Tuesday, moving up more than 0.7% from a day’s low of 1.3524 to a high of 1.3637. The risk sentiment in Europe has deteriorated due to resurfacing banking concerns, and this is sinking all ships, with high beta currencies like the Canadian Dollar bearing …