Markets upbeat after S&P 500 and Dow refresh records
Top daily news
Stock futures are mostly up currently following a bullish session on Friday as Dow and SP500 again ended at records. Bitcoin pared most of its losses after plunging as much as 14% on Sunday following reports the US Treasury may be planning to crack down on money-laundering activity within digital assets.
Forex news
| Currency Pair | Change |
| EUR USD | -0.09% |
| GBP USD | +0.25% |
| USD JPY | -0.38% |
| AUD USD | -0.03% |
The Dollar weakening has halted 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, slipped 0.1% on Friday as the University of Michigan reported Consumer Sentiment index rose to 86.5 for April from 84.9 the previous month when an increase to 88.9 was expected.
EUR/USD reversed its sliding Friday while GBP/USD’s reversed its climbing as Eurostat reported the trade surplus in single currency area fell to 18.4 billion euro from 24.4 billion in January, when a decline to 21.9 billion was forecast. Euro is lower against the Dollar currently while Pound is higher. USD/JPY reversed its sliding Friday while AUD/USD reversed its climbing with yen higher against the Greenback currently while Australian dollar is lower.
Stock market news
| Indices | Change |
| Dow Jones Index | +0.44% |
| GB 100 Index | -0.33% |
| Nikkei Index | +0.01% |
| Hang Seng Index | +0.61% |
Futures on US equity benchmarks are mixed currently after SP 500 and Dow posted their fourth consecutive weekly gains Friday. Risk on sentiment got a boost last session from strong housing data showing homebuilding rebounded sharply last month. Earnings session continues with IBM and Coca-Cola slated to report quarterly results later in the day. The three main US stock benchmarks recorded gains ranging from 0.1% to 0.5% Friday.
European stock indexes are mixed currently after ending higher on Friday led by auto shares boosted by strong earnings report from Daimler. Asian indexes are advancing today with Shanghai Composite leading gains while Nikkei index ended essentially unchanged as Japan exports rose in March as global demand grew.
Commodity market news
| Commodities | Change |
| Brent Crude Oil | -0.37% |
| WTI Crude | -0.18% |
Brent is edging lower currently. Prices retreated on Friday as US drillers increased the number of oil rigs by seven to 344 last week, according to energy services firm Baker Hughes. The US oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures declined 0.5% and is lower currently. June Brent crude lost 0.3% to $66.77 a barrel on Friday.
Gold market news
| Metals | Change |
| Gold | +0.36% |
Gold prices are edging higher today. June gold gained 0.8% settling at $1780.20 on Friday, booking nearly 2% gain for the week, best weekly gain of the year.
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Author
Dmitry Lukashov
IFC Markets
Dimtry Lukashov is the senior analyst of IFC Markets. He started his professional career in the financial market as a trader interested in stocks and obligations.
