Market Update

Canadian retail sales rose by 0.5% in December from November at C$62.12 billion ($46.19 billion), on higher sales at motor vehicles and parts dealers, as well as general merchandise stores, Statistics Canada said on Tuesday. Sales were seen to rise by 0.7% in January, the agency said in a flash …

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) will announce its monetary policy decision on Wednesday, February 22 at 01:00 GMT and as we get closer to the release time, here are the expectations as forecast by the economists and researchers of six major banks. According to a Reuters survey of …

A survey showed that strong growth in the services sector gave impetus to business growth in the euro zone this month, expanding much faster than expected, in the latest evidence that the single currency region can escape recession. Data on Tuesday reported that the S&P Global’s composite purchasing managers’ index …

The German ZEW headline number showed that the Economic Sentiment Index improved further, arriving at 28.1 in February from 16.9 in January, beating the market expectation of 22.0. Meanwhile, the Current Situation Index came in at -45.1 from -58.6 but outpaced the market expectation of -50.0 During the same period, …

European shares opened lower on Tuesday, with the impact of cautious expectations from HSBC on the Stoxx 600 index, while the optimistic performance of Engie shares mitigated some losses after the French energy company announced large annual profits. The European Stoxx 600 index fell 0.2 percent in the first hour …

The dollar hovered at the highest level in six weeks ahead of the announcement of economic data that may help determine the direction of interest rates in the future, while the euro fell ahead of the announcement of monthly data on corporate activity. Strong data for the US labor market …

The Russian ruble declined against the dollar ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s expected speech before the Federal Assembly, which is expected to be of great importance given its date coinciding with the first anniversary of the war in Ukraine, despite the high demand for the Russian currency with the approaching …

Benchmark Brent crude opened trading on Tuesday slightly lower in light of the dollar’s rise and traders awaited signals from the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting on interest rates, after optimism about demand amid tight supplies led to a rise in prices on Monday. Brent crude fell 59 …

Japanese stock markets ended lower on Tuesday, as investor confidence was shaken after a survey of companies showed that the country’s manufacturing activity contracted at the fastest pace in 30 months in February. The Nikkei index fell 0.21 percent to close at 27,473.10 points, and consumer goods stocks led the …

Gold rose slightly on Tuesday, as it was confined to a narrow range as investors refrained from forming large positions ahead of the release of US economic data that may affect the Federal Reserve’s interest rate strategy. Gold rose 0.1 percent to $1,842.37 an ounce at 0245 GMT, while it …