The US stock market ended the trading session in the green zone due to good corporate reporting. The oil and gas, healthcare, and industrial sectors were the growth leaders. Dow Jones index increased by 0.80%, S&P 500 added 0.82% and Nasdaq increased by 0.55%. At the same time, there is an increase in cases of COVID-19 in the United States. Many local authorities have reintroduced mandatory wearing of masks indoors, and some authorities want to introduce mandatory forced vaccination. On Friday, the US Labor Department will release its July unemployment report. Experts are predicting an increase in the number of jobs. If the growth of the number of US jobs in July and August reaches about 800,000, the American labor market will be close to the pre-crisis level. It can make the Fed announce the reduction of the QE program in September. However, US business activity indices show that the peak of economic growth is over, and no significant increase in jobs should be expected.
European stock indices closed without a single trend yesterday. British FTSE 100 added 0.34%, French CAC 40 jumped by 0.72%, while German DAX decreased by 0.09%. There is no unified correlation between the European and the US indices now. Over 60% of the adult population has been fully vaccinated (2 doses) against COVID-19 in the European Union. These numbers put Europe among the world leaders in vaccination. British Petroleum reported a net profit of $3.12 billion in the second quarter of 2021. Last year in the same period, the company had a net loss of $16.85 billion.
Oil prices fell for the third day in a row as worries about more Delta cases around the world worsened the prospects for fuel demand. The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated crude oil inventories yesterday. Preliminary data for last week showed inventories fell by 879,000 barrels. The government report on US crude oil inventories is expected today. Iran denied the accusations that it was involved in the second attack on an oil tanker off the coast of the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday. Britain and the US continue to hold the country responsible for an earlier attack on a tanker in the region on Thursday last week.
December gold futures decreased by 0.48% yesterday, hitting $1.813 a troy ounce. The situation in the precious metals market remains mixed. From the fundamental point of view, with the soft monetary policy and big volume of buying government bonds, the prices for gold and silver should grow. But it does not happen, suggesting that investors have stopped viewing gold as a defensive asset.
Shares of China’s largest video and online gaming companies fell after the Chinese State edition, Economic Information Daily, published an article comparing online gaming to “opium” and warning about widespread dependence on games among children. The report also argues that more than half of China’s children are nearsighted and that online games have a negative impact on their education. Chinese authorities intend to fight gaming addiction among children. Chinese online giant Alibaba reported strong figures for last quarter but lowered its revenue estimates for the next quarter because of slowing e-commerce growth and ongoing repressive measures by the authorities. At the same time, Beijing banned train arrivals from more than 20 Chinese provinces as the outbreak of the Covid-19 Delta variant in the country spreads further.
Main market quotes:
- S&P 500 (F) 4,423.15 +35.99 (+0.82%)
- Dow Jones 35,116.40 +278.24 (+0.80%)
- DAX 15,555.08 -13.65 (-0.09%)
- FTSE 100 7,105.72 +24.00 (+0.34%)
- USD Index 92.07 0.0 (0.0%)
Important events for today:
- New Zealand Unemployment Rate (q/q) at 01:45 (GMT+3);
- Australia Retail Sales (m/m) at 04:30 (GMT+3);
- Eurozone Services PMI (m/m) at 11:00 (GMT+3);
- UK Services PMI (m/m) at 11:30 (GMT+3);
- US ADP Non-Farm Employment Change (m/m) at 15:15 (GMT+3);
- US ISM Services PMI (m/m) at 17:00 (GMT+3);
- US Crude Oil Reserves (w/w) at 17:30 (GMT+3).
