The US stock market closed in the green zone yesterday due to the flow of corporate revenues of reporting companies, which led to the strengthening of the oil and gas, financial, and technology sectors, particularly the semiconductor industry. The S&P 500 index increased by 0.82%, the Dow Jones added 0.83%, and the Nasdaq jumped by 0.92%. Special attention was focused on the airline and cruise companies, which are steadily recovering. Today, investors’ attention is directed to the ECB meeting, which will indirectly influence the dollar index, as well as to the weekly report on the number of initial jobless claims. Positive labor market data could provoke growth in the dollar index and a decrease in the main indices.
The European stock market closed with growth yesterday. British FTSE 100 increased by 1.7%, German DAX added 1.36%, French CAC 40 jumped by 1.85%. Europe’s largest chipmaker ASML Holding increased its net profit in the second quarter and improved its yearly revenue forecast, which led to a 3.1% rise in its stock price. Shares of German automaker Daimler AG gained 1.1%. At the same time, there are problems with food supplies in the UK because of the labor shortage. Germany continues to struggle with the consequences of the floods. At the moment, about 40,000 people have no access to electricity and water in the stricken areas. Reconstruction after the floods will take several years. The estimated cost of future work is billions of euros. The heavy rains in western Europe have caused flooding not only in Germany but also in neighboring Belgium and the Netherlands.
Yesterday, the oil prices jumped despite an unexpected increase in the US oil inventories last week. The situation in the oil market remains uncertain. On the one hand, demand for fuel is rising sharply during the summer season. On the other hand, OPEC+ countries have started to increase oil production so that supply can catch up with demand. The rise of the Delta strain cases in Asia also influences oil prices. The introduction of new lockdowns could trigger a new wave of declines.
The situation in the market of precious metals did not change much compared to yesterday.
Asia-Pacific stock indices are also increasing following the rise of the US stock market for the second day in a row. Japanese stock exchanges are not trading on Thursday due to a holiday (Marine Day). Real estate operator Longfor Group Holdings (+5%), solar panel manufacturer Xinyi Solar Holdings (+4.8%), casino operator Galaxy Entertainment Group (+4.6%), online retailer Alibaba (+1.9%), Internet giant Tencent Holdings (+0.7%), consumer electronics manufacturer Xiaomi Corp. (+0.2%) became the growth leaders of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. At the same time, on Thursday, China rejected the World Health Organization’s (WHO) plan for the second phase of investigation concerning the origin of the coronavirus, which includes the hypothesis that the virus came from a Chinese laboratory. In the meantime, the Delta strain cases are growing in Australia. The vaccination rates are low.
Main market quotes:
- S&P 500 (F) 4,358.69 +35.63 (+0.82%)
- Dow Jones 34,798.00 +286.01 (+0.83%)
- DAX 15,422.50 +206.23 (+1.36%)
- FTSE 100 6,998.28 +117.15 (+1.70%)
- USD Index 92.76 -0.21 (-0.23%)
Important events for today:
- Eurozone Deposit Facility Rate (m/m) at 14:45 (GMT+3);
- Eurozone ECB Marginal Lending Facility at 14:45 (GMT+3);
- Eurozone ECB Monetary Policy Statement at 14:45 (GMT+3);
- Eurozone ECB Interest Rate Decision at 14:45 (GMT+3);
- Eurozone ECB Press Conference at 15:30 (GMT+3);
- US Initial Jobless Claims (w/w) at 15:30 (GMT+3);
- Natural Gas Storage (w/w) at 17:30 (GMT+3).
