Markets advance intact with SP 500 near new record – 11.8.2020

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, added 0.1% Monday as the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the number of job openings in the US rose 518,000 to 5.8 million, climbing for a second month in a row. EUR/USD continued sliding Monday while GBP/USD reversed higher as Sentix overall business sentiment  index for the euro-zone economy climbed by +4.8 points for the fourth time in a row, reaching -13.4. Both pairs are little changed currently. AUD/USD continued sliding yesterday while USD/JPY continued advancing with both pairs higher currently.

Futures on three main US stock indexes are higher currently ahead of the housing starts report at 16:15 CET today. Companies continue reporting second quarter results. As of Friday, companies representing 89% of the SP 500’s market capitalization had reported second-quarter results, with 81% of them beating their lowered projections. The three main US stock indexes posted returns ranging from -0.4% to 1.3% Monday. European stock indexes are advancing currently after back to back gains yesterday led by bank shares. Asian indexes are mostly rising today led by Nikkei and followed by Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index as China Association of Automobile Manufacturers reported China’s auto sales grew for a fourth straight month in July.

Brent is extending gains today. Oil prices ended solidly higher on Monday after Saudi Aramco Chief Executive said over the weekend there had been a “partial recovery” in demand: the US oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for September added 1.8% Monday and is up currently. October Brent crude rose 1.3% to $44.99 a barrel on Monday.

Gold prices are edging lower today. December gold added 0.6% to $2039 an ounce on Monday.