Daily Recap: Tuesday, August 18, 2020

It was another weak day for the U.S. Dollar due to selling pressures and a decline in the Treasury Yields, but Wall Street was soaring with tech stocks making big gains and leading the S&P 500 index to finally close at a new record level, recovering all of its losses due to the COVID-19 crisis. Meanwhile, oil prices edged higher and gold was able to build up on yesterday’s gains and closed, once more, above the $2,000 per ounce level. Here is the day’s news recap.

Forex:

• GBP Maintains Gains amid USD Weakness
• NZD Rises Following GDT Price Declines
• USD Declines to More than Two-Year Low
• AUD/USD Rises Following RBA Meeting Minutes
• US Dollar Near its Lowest Level in Two Years
• USD Declining in Anticipation of Developments

Stocks:

• S&P 500 Closes at New All-Time High
• European Stocks Finish Lower
• European Shares Drop amid US-Chinese Tensions
• Nikkei Drops and Political Uncertainty Discourages Risk

Commodities:

• Oil Prices Settle Higher and Await OPEC+ Summit
• Gold Restores $2,000 per Ounce Level
• Gold Jumps 1% Surpassing $ 2,000
• Oil Retreating After Gains Due to Production Cuts
• Gold Futures: Room For Extra Upside
• Natural Gas Futures: Extra Pullbacks Appear Shallow

Economic Data:

• U.S. Housing Starts Rise More than Expected
• Japanese Manufacturers’ Confidence Improves

News:

• Trudeau Appoints His Deputy as Finance Minister
• Canada Finance Minister Resigns
• China Rejects US Measures Against Huawei
• Russia’s Energy Minister Tests Positive for COVID-19