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Wednesday has been quite a busy and worrisome trading day. Most currencies have not reflected this as investors are preoccupied by ECB’s monetary policy decision eying it with caution. The US stock market continued its recent rally on Wednesday’s trading session, with technology stocks jumping. For the entire market, earnings remain in the investors’ focus.
Stocks finished higher on Wednesday, adding to sharp gains booked a day before, with corporate earnings from a string of major technology companies in focus. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added about 51 points, or 0.2%, ending near 31,878. The S&P 500 index rose 0.6%, while the Nasdaq Composite Index closed 1.6% higher.
The American dollar achieved modest gains against CHF and JPY. Gold, on the other hand, fell to a fresh weekly low below $1,700 and now trades in the $1,697 price zone. Crude oil prices edged marginally lower, with WTI now changing hands at $99.80 a barrel.
The EUR/USD pair trades around 1.0170, while GBP/USD was once again unable to retain gains above the 1.2000 threshold and hovers in the 1.1960 price zone. The AUD/USD pair is marginally lower, holding below 0.6900, while USD/CAD consolidates around 1.2870.
Economic Data
Inflation is among the important global issues, as the Consumer Price Index in the UK surged by 9.4% YoY in June, while the Canadian CPI climbed by 8.1% in the same period, both up from May figures.
On the US front, Existing-home sales declined for the fifth straight month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.12 million. Sales were down 5.4% from May and 14.2% from one year ago. The median existing-home sales price climbed 13.4% from one year ago to $416,000, a new record high.
The European Commission said Wednesday that its measure of consumer confidence in the region fell to minus 27.0 in July from a revised figure of minus 23.8 in June.
Other Developments
Wall Street opened with modest gains, but US indexes took a turn to the worst amid news big companies are cutting off jobs. Google was the first one, announcing it would pause recruitment for two week, while later in the day, Ford unveiled plans to cut as many as 8000 jobs in the coming weeks. The headlines put back on the table recession concerns.
In Italy, Prime Minister Mario Draghi won a confidence motion, but as three major cotillion parties boycotted the vote, he is likely to resign and call for early elections. Also, EU authorities fear a full cut-off of Russian gas, which will take a harsh toll on the Union’s Gross Domestic Product.
In the UK, the Conservative leadership contest has reduced candidates to two final ones, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss. One of them will become the next Prime Minister replacing Boris Johnson. The winner will be announced on Monday, September 5, following a postal ballot completed by 160,000 Tory party members.
Russia has announced geographical objectives of the special operation in Ukraine have changed to add new territories.
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