August 24, 2020
Top daily news
Equity markets are rising currently after another bullish week ended last Friday. Market sentiment got a boost from US authorization of the blood plasma use from recovered patients as a coronavirus treatment option.
Forex news
| Currency Pair | Change |
| EUR USD | -0.4% |
| GBP USD | -0.9% |
| USD JPY | +0.06% |
The Dollar strengthening 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, rose 0.5% Friday as Markit reported US purchasing managers manufacturing and services indexes for August were better than expected, with the service sector index rising to 54.8 for August, a 17 month high, and up from 50 in July. A reading of 50 or above indicates industry expansion. Both GBP/USD and EUR/USD reversed their climbing Friday as euro-zone flash composite PMI August reading, widely seen as a strong gauge of economic health, fell to 51.6 from July’s 54.9, with both pairs higher currently. USD/JPY turned higher while AUD/USD reversed its climbing on Friday with Australian dollar higher against the greenback currently while yen continuing to slide.
Stock Market news
| Indices | Change |
| Dow Jones Index | +0.95% |
| GB 100 Index | +1.07% |
| Nikkei Index | -1.1% |
| Hang Seng Index | +1.67% |
US equity markets are rising currently with Congress still at stalemate on adopting another coronavirus financial aid plan. The three main US stock indexes recorded weekly gains ranging from 0.0% to 2.7% last week led mainly by large capitalization technology shares. European stock indexes are higher currently after a pullback Friday following a weaker than expected euro-zone flash purchasing managers’ index reports. Asian indexes are mostly higher today led by Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index .
Commodity Market news
| Commodities | Change |
| WTI Crude | -0.26% |
Brent is retracing higher today after retreat Friday. Prices are rising as storms close in on the Gulf of Mexico, with local oil producers shutting 58% of their oil production. Oil prices ended lower last session. The US oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures are higher currently after October WTI fell 1.1% Friday. October Brent crude lost 1.2% to $44.35 a barrel on Friday.
Gold Market News
| Metals | Change |
| Gold | -0.04% |
Gold prices are extending gains today. December gold added 0.1% to $1947 an ounce on Friday.
Market Analysis provided by IFCMarkets.com
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