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Improved Economic Momentum Boost Gains in Markets

By:
FX Empire Editorial Board
Updated: Mar 5, 2019, 13:26 UTC

A wave of optimism was spread throughout the financial markets on Thursday, following upbeat economic reports from Europe and the United States,

Improved Economic Momentum Boost Gains in Markets

A wave of optimism was spread throughout the financial markets on Thursday, following upbeat economic reports from Europe and the United States, indicating that the economic recovery is adding stream regardless of the escalating debt woes that have been spreading fears around the markets

In a busy session for the U.S economy, data from the U.S Department of Commerce showed that jobless claims dropped to 366 thousand from 385 thousand, the lowest level in three years, while manufacturing data came much better than forecasted in December.

A gauge of manufacturing activity in the New-York region accelerated more than estimates to 9.53 following an anemic expansion worth 0.6, while the factory growth in the Philadelphia Federal District advanced to 10.3 from 3.6.

Positive vibes dominated the market on Thursday though some of economic reports missed median estimates such as the U.S industrial production report which showed the U.S factory production dropped 0.2 percent after increasing 0.7 percent, while the U.S Department of Treasury reported its net long-run TIC flows eased significantly to $4.8 billion from $68.6 billion.

The U.S producer Prices Index was released as well to show that price pressures continue to be subdued  as been said by the U.S Federal Reserve Bank, and won’t be threatening and will actually support the U.S economy to maintain a stronger economic recovery.

Moreover, economic fundamentals from the euro area came better than forecasts as PMI manufacturing advanced reading came in at 46.9 from the prior reading of 46.4, while the services contraction eased to 48.3 from 47.5 in November.

After a three-day gain, the U.S dollar where little changed major currencies on Thursday, where the US dollar Index opened at 80.52 levels and traded around 80.36, the Euro versus the dollar rebound a little where the EUR/USD pair trades around 1.3022, compared with the opening level at 1.2985.

The British Pound rose faintly against the dollar, where the GBP/USD pair trades around 1.5498, compared with the opening level at 1.5472. The dollar fell before the Japanese Yen, since the USD/JPY opened at 78.12 levels to currently trade around 77.88.

Stocks in the United States were higher after opening on Wednesday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded around 11888 with a 0.55 percent gain, while the S&P 500 index was up 0.53% to trade around 1218. European stock indexes extended gain before closing on Wednesday, where FTSE 100 Index was down by nearly 2.25% to trade at 5395 and the DAX Index was up by 0.83% to trade around 5726.

After rebounding from a two-month low, gold prices steadied since opening at $1574.42 levels to currently trade around $1574.33 an ounce, while crude oil prices steadied low after opening at $94.91, where crude oil trades around $96.00 a barrel, following its big drop after the OPEC decided to increase the production ceiling.

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