Market Update

Initial jobless claims have been trending higher since early April in one of the clearest signs that the US labour market conditions have begun to deteriorate. While jobless claims have a successful track record foreshadowing recession, continuing claims are a better check on whether the economy is already slowing down.The …

The major US index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open on Thursday, with stocks likely to show a lack of direction following the rally seen in the previous session.The S&P 500 has gone back and forth during the US session, sitting below the 200 day EMA, as …

Truth to tell US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi left Taiwan but the visit has put commodities and supplies in focus once again on the island’s critical role in the global chip supply chain and in particular on the world’s biggest chipmaker, namely, TSMC.The controversial visit, which angered Beijing, was a …

Bank of England (BoE) Governor Andrew Bailey is delivering his remarks on the policy outlook and responding to questions from the press following the bank’s decision to hike the policy rate by 50 basis points to 1.75%. Quotes “We would have had to raise interest rates in double digits last …

Following its August policy meeting, the Bank of England announced that it raised the policy rate by 50 basis points to 1.75% as expected. The policy statement revealed that Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Silvana Tenreyro voted to hike the rate by 0.25 basis points.

Oil prices held largely steady on Thursday as the market balanced tight supplies with demand concerns, after an increase in US crude and gasoline inventories pushed prices to multi-month lows in the previous session. By 0925 GMT, Brent crude futures rose 36 cents, or 0.37 percent, to $97.14 a barrel, …

The dollar held onto recent gains against other major currencies on Thursday, as comments from Federal Reserve officials reinforced the US central bank’s determination to tackle the highest inflation rate in decades with massive interest rate hikes. Meanwhile, the Bank of England is widely expected to raise interest rates by …

European shares rose on Thursday following strong results for several companies, while the focus is on the Bank of England, which is expected to raise interest rates by the most since 1995. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.1 percent, following the path of Asian stocks, which rose 0.4 percent, …

Gold prices rose on Thursday, supported by lower US Treasury yields, as cautious investors awaited the US non-farm payrolls report due this week for more clues on the Federal Reserve’s stance on raising interest rates. By 0628 GMT, spot gold rose 0.3 percent to $1,769.74 an ounce. US futures also …

The People’s Republic of China decided to impose trade sanctions against Taiwan – as it had done against Australia – and targeted the island’s industrial sector, which enjoys political independence despite being a part of China. The General Administration of Customs of China suddenly announced the suspension of imports of …