Asian stocks ended mixed on Thursday, with Japanese markets falling heavily as the yen hit a one-month high against the dollar on growing speculation that the Bank of Japan could end negative interest rates this month. Chinese and Hong Kong markets also ended lower as rising U.S.-China tensions overshadowed better-than-expected trade data for the first...
The euro weakened against other major currencies in the European session on Thursday. The euro fell to a 3-week low of 161.04 against the yen, from an early high of 162.69. Against the pound, the Swiss franc and the U.S. dollar, the euro slipped to 0.8548, 0.9593 and 1.0888 from early highs of 0.8563, 0.9621...
German stocks declined on Thursday after data showed Germany\'s factory orders declined sharply in January. New orders in manufacturing posted a monthly decline of 11.3 percent, in contrast to the 12.0 percent increase in December. Economists had forecast a 6.0 percent fall. Destatis said the sharp decline in January was due to the high volume...
French stocks traded lower on Thursday as investors awaited the ECB\'s rate decision as well as President Christine Lagarde\'s press conference for directional cues. The central bank is expected to keep interest rates unchanged at record highs for the fourth policy meeting in a row but could signal potential future cuts in case there is...
U.K. stocks declined on Thursday as data from mortgage lender Halifax continued to suggest a relatively stable start to 2024. British house prices rose by 1.7 percent in the year to February, slowing from January\'s 2.3 percent. increase, Halifax reported. On a monthly basis, house prices advanced 0.4 percent from January, following a 1.2 percent...
European stocks were subdued on Thursday as investors awaited cues from the ECB\'s rate decision as well as President Christine Lagarde\'s press conference later in the day. The central bank is expected to keep interest rates unchanged at record highs for the fourth policy meeting in a row but could signal potential future cuts in...
Labor productivity in the U.S. saw an unrevised jump in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday. The Labor Department said labor productivity shot up by 3.2 percent in the fourth quarter, unchanged from the previous estimate. Economists had expected the surge in productivity to be...
The European Central Bank left the key interest rates unchanged on Thursday and lowered both the inflation and growth forecast for the euro area for this year. The Governing Council, led by ECB President Christine Lagarde, maintained the main refinancing rate, or refi, at 4.50 percent, as expected. The deposit facility rate was left unchanged...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, amid the ongoing reports of lead poisoning in young children, announced several additional steps to address concerns about elevated lead levels in various cinnamon products. The agency also recommended recall of certain ground cinnamon products sold by a number of brands at six different retail chains that were found...
A day ahead of the release the more closely watched monthly jobs report, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits came in unchanged from an upwardly revised level in the week ended March 2nd. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims came in at 217,000, unchanged from...