Aug 6 2024: On Tuesday, Australia’s central bank ruled out the possibility of an interest rate cut this year, citing slow progress in reducing core inflation. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) held interest rates steady at 4.35% for the sixth consecutive meeting. Following the announcement, the Australian dollar rose by 0.3% to $0.6517. Three-year bond futures also declined, dropping 29 ticks to 96.4, as market expectations for a rate cut in November were reduced from 88% to 55%, though a cut by December remains fully anticipated. The RBA’s decision to keep rates unchanged reflects its stance that current policy must…
Author: editor2
Aug 6 2024: On Tuesday, the Japanese yen steadied, while the Swiss franc also softened, marking a reversal of some recent significant market movements and signaling a return to calm. The dollar was last trading at 144.75 yen, up 0.3% on the day. This was the first instance this month where the dollar strengthened against the yen, though it remains down by 10 yen over the past week. This shift came amid a broader market reassessment, with Japan’s Nikkei index rebounding by 10% on Tuesday after a 12% drop the previous day. European shares were also attempting to recover. “Markets seem…
Aug 6 2024: Oil prices steadied on Tuesday after earlier gains as concerns about escalating conflict in the Middle East and reduced output from Libya’s largest Sharara oilfield bolstered fears of tight supplies. Brent crude futures inched up by 12 cents, or 0.16%, to $76.42 a barrel by 1001 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures increased by 22 cents, or 0.3%, to $73.16. Both contracts had risen over $1 a barrel earlier in the session. Panmure Liberum analyst Ashley Kelty noted that “fears of a slowdown in the U.S. and weak growth in China are likely to weigh heavily…
Aug 6 2024: “Never sell your bitcoin,” Donald Trump declared to an enthusiastic crowd at a crypto convention in Nashville, Tennessee, in late July. The Republican presidential candidate’s speech highlighted his effort to attract crypto-focused voters ahead of the November election and included a plan for a national bitcoin reserve. “If elected, my administration will ensure that 100% of all bitcoin held or acquired by the U.S. government is kept as part of a strategic national bitcoin stockpile,” Trump said, outlining his vision for the reserve. Trump’s proposal aligns with similar ideas from other politicians. U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis has introduced…
Aug 6 2024: Domino’s Pizza Group in the UK has revised its full-year profit forecast downwards, citing its decision to pass anticipated lower food costs to franchisees and offer more value deals to customers. The UK franchise of the U.S.-based Domino’s Pizza now expects its adjusted annual core profit to fall at the lower end of market expectations. Previously, the company had anticipated its profit would align with the forecasted range. Shares of the company initially rose nearly 5% in early trading but later fell by over 3% as of 0812 GMT. Current analyst estimates project the annual profit to range…
Aug 5 2024: Minutes from the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) June meeting, released on Monday, show that at least two of the nine board members advocated for an early interest rate increase, highlighting a more hawkish stance that suggests potential for further hikes. The minutes indicate that members discussed the yen’s recent depreciation as a factor pushing up inflation, which necessitates close attention in monetary policy decisions. The discussions at the June meeting reflect concerns about yen fluctuations and potential inflation overshoots, which contributed to the BOJ’s decision in July to raise interest rates to levels not seen in 15 years.…
Aug 5 2024: The Japanese yen surged to its highest level against the dollar since January on Monday, driven by market reactions to recent weak U.S. labor data that heightened recession fears and expectations for more aggressive Federal Reserve rate cuts. Friday’s disappointing jobs report, coupled with a series of weak earnings from major tech firms and growing concerns over the Chinese economy, sparked a global sell-off in stock markets, oil, and high-yield currencies as investors sought safer assets. The sell-off continued on Monday, with U.S. Treasury yields dropping further, stock indexes declining, bitcoin plummeting, and the dollar weakening—particularly against the…
Aug 5 2024: Gold prices edged lower on Monday but remained close to record highs as the metal continued to attract safe-haven demand amid escalating worries about slowing economic growth. As of 06:00 ET (10:00 GMT), spot gold fell by 0.8% to $2,424.01 per ounce, while December gold futures decreased by 0.2% to $2,464.15 per ounce. A weaker dollar also supported the metal markets, as a series of weak U.S. economic indicators led traders to anticipate more significant interest rate cuts in the U.S. this year. Gold Benefits from Safe-Haven Demand; Record High Approaches Gold futures briefly surpassed record highs of…
Aug 5 2024: Bitcoin and ether tumbled on Monday to their lowest levels in months as concerns over a potential U.S. recession, following weak economic data, shook financial markets and prompted a sell-off in risky assets. This sell-off marked a dramatic turnaround just days after optimism, sparked by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s speech, had propelled bitcoin—the world’s largest cryptocurrency—above the $70,000 mark for the first time in over a month. Earlier this year, the crypto markets received a boost when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved exchange-traded funds to track the spot prices of bitcoin and ether. Recently, however,…
Aug 5 2024: Taiwan’s stock market experienced a historic plunge of 8.4% on Monday, with significant losses in tech stocks, including TSMC, as investor concerns over the U.S. economy triggered a sell-off in one of Asia’s leading markets. This marked the largest one-day percentage decline for the main index. The market fell by 1,807.21 points, closing at 19,830.88—the lowest level since April 23—as the tech sector’s downturn spread across the board. “The timing of a recovery is uncertain. It’s too early to determine,” said David Wu, an analyst at Cathay Futures Consulting Department in Taipei. Taiwan was among several markets that…
