After staying a bit subdued in the European Session, the U.S. dollar moved higher in the New York session on Thursday after data showed an unexpected drop in jobless claims in the week ended September 14th. The jumbo half-a-percentage point interest rate cut announced by the Federal Reserve weighed on greenback a bit and limited...
The Canadian market rose to a new record high on Thursday as investors cheered the Federal Reserves decision to cut interest rates by 50 basis points. Higher crude oil and gold prices triggered strong buying in energy and materials stocks, contributing to markets upmove. Technology stocks turned in a fine performance. The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite...
The Bank of Japan will wrap up its monetary policy meeting on Friday and then announce its decision on interest rates, highlighting a light day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. The BoJ is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 0.25 percent. Japan also will see August figures for consumer prices; in July,...
UK retail sales grew more than expected in August as warmer weather boosted food and clothing sales, data from the Office for National Statistics showed on Friday. Retail sales grew 1.0 percent on a monthly basis in August, faster than the 0.7 percent rise in July. Sales were forecast to climb moderately by 0.3 percent....
The UK government borrowing exceeded the official estimate and the debt hit 100 percent of GDP at the end of August, data from the Office for National Statistics revealed Friday. Public sector net borrowing increased GBP 3.3 billion from the previous year to GBP 13.7 billion in August. This was the third highest borrowing for...
Asian stocks closed broadly higher on Friday, although most of the markets in the region turned a bit subdued and pared early gains as the day progressed. The undertone remained positive with investors continuing to cheer the Federal Reserves decision to cut interest rates by 50 basis points. The Japanese market outperformed despite paring some...
The major European markets are down in negative territory on Friday with investors assessing the likely impact of the monetary policy and interest-rate moves of major central banks on the economy. Automobile stocks are among the notable losers. Shares from the luxury and consumer durable sectors are also finding the going a bit tough so...
The Bank of Japan maintained its benchmark rate on Friday after two hikes this year and signalled that the policy normalization will continue but the further action will be data dependent. In a unanimous vote, the Policy Board decided to maintain the uncollateralized overnight call rate to remain at around 0.25 percent. This was the...
New Zealand posted a merchandise trade deficit of NZ$2.203 billion in August, Statistics New Zealand said on Monday. That missed forecasts for a shortfall of NZ$155 million following the downwardly revised NZ$1.016 billion deficit in July (originally a deficit of NZ$963 million). Exports were down 0.1 percent on year to NZ$4.97 billion, easing from the...
The Malaysia stock market has climbed higher in back-to-back sessions, gathering almost 10 points or 0.6 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,670-point plateau although it may be stuck in neutral on Monday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with profit taking likely on...