Top daily news
Stock futures are mostly up currently after a choppy week with markets in mainland China and Japan closed for holidays. Tesla shares rallied 4.79% Friday outperforming market, Amazon stock slid 0.11% while judge declined to dismiss Amazon's allegation that president Trump's interference cost the company a $10bn Pentagon contract which was eventually awarded to Microsoft.
Forex news
| Currency Pair | Change |
| EUR USD | -0.41% |
| GBP USD | +0.21% |
| USD JPY | +0.3% |
| AUD USD | +0.12% |
The Dollar strengthening is intact currently. The live dollar index data show the ICE US Dollar index, a measure of the dollar’s strength against a basket of six rival currencies, jumped 0.7% on Friday as the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Personal Consumption Expenditure index rose more than expected in March, as did employment cost index and personal income.
EUR/USD accelerated its sliding Friday while GBP/USD reversed its retreating as federal statistics office Destatis reported German Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell 1.7% over quarter in Q1 after 0.3% increase in the last three months of 2020, when a decrease of 1.5% was forecast. Euro is lower against the Dollar currently while Pound is higher. AUD/USD accelerated its retreating Friday while USD/JPY continued its climbing with Australian dollar higher against the Greenback currently and yen lower still.
Stock market news
| Indices | Change |
| Dow Jones Index | +0.27% |
| Hang Seng Index | -1.14% |
| Australian Stock Index | -0.01% |
| DE 30 | +0.39% |
Futures on US equity benchmarks are higher currently ahead of Manufacturing PMI report by the Institute for Supply Management at 16:00 CET today. Stocks finished the week marginally higher. The three main US stock benchmarks recorded daily losses ranging from 0.5% to 0.9% Friday.
European stock indexes are up currently after ending lower on Friday led by mining shares as Eurostat reported euro-zone fell into double-dip recession with GDP declining 0.6% in the first quarter. UK markets are closed for the May Day public holiday. Asian indexes are mostly lower today with Hang Seng Index leading losses amid news Australia is reviewing the 99-year lease of a commercial and military port Darwin in the country's north to a Chinese firm while New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern said differences with China are ‘becoming harder to reconcile.’
Commodity market news
| Commodities | Change |
| Brent Crude Oil | -0.49% |
| WTI Crude | -0.15% |
Brent is edging lower currently. Prices slumped on Friday as Japanese data showed oil imports fell 25% in March from a year earlier to 2.34 million barrels per day, while OPEC oil output rose in April due to more supply from Iran. The US oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures fell 2.2% and is lower currently. June Brent crude lost 1.9% on the last day of trading for the front-month contract to $67.25 a barrel on Friday. However for the week, Brent gained 1.7% while WTI rose about 2.3%.
Gold market news
| Metals | Change |
| Gold | Gold |
Gold prices are edging higher today. Spot gold lost 0.2% settling at $1768.76 on Friday.
Want to get more free analytics? Open Demo Account now to get daily news and analytical materials.
This overview has an informative character and is not financial advice or a recommendation. IFCMarkets. Corp. under any circumstances is not liable for any action taken by someone else after reading this article.
Recommended Content
Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD holds below 1.0750 ahead of key US data
EUR/USD trades in a tight range below 1.0750 in the European session on Friday. The US Dollar struggles to gather strength ahead of key PCE Price Index data, the Fed's preferred gauge of inflation, and helps the pair hold its ground.
USD/JPY stays firm above 156.00 after BoJ Governor Ueda's comments
USD/JPY stays firm above 156.00 after surging above this level on the Bank of Japan's decision to leave the policy settings unchanged. BoJ Governor said weak Yen was not impacting prices but added that they will watch FX developments closely.
Gold price oscillates in a range as the focus remains glued to the US PCE Price Index
Gold price struggles to attract any meaningful buyers amid the emergence of fresh USD buying. Bets that the Fed will keep rates higher for longer amid sticky inflation help revive the USD demand.
Bitcoin Weekly Forecast: BTC’s next breakout could propel it to $80,000 Premium
Bitcoin’s recent price consolidation could be nearing its end as technical indicators and on-chain metrics suggest a potential upward breakout. However, this move would not be straightforward and could punish impatient investors.
US core PCE inflation set to signal firm price pressures as markets delay Federal Reserve rate cut bets
The core PCE Price Index, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, is seen as the more influential measure of inflation in terms of Fed positioning. The index is forecast to rise 0.3% on a monthly basis in March, matching February’s increase.