Forex News – JPMorgan Chase Earnings, and Jobless Claims Spread Optimism in U.S.... |
Stock markets in the United States rose at opening on Thursday, as investors were encouraged after JPMorgan Chase & Co reported earnings that topped estimates, while jobless claims fell below expectations, which supported confidence among traders. Moreover, data on inflation showed easing pressures as the PPI fell in June due to falling energy prices, while retail sales for June slightly rose above expectations.
Investors shrugged off Moody’s announcement that it put the credit rating outlook for U.S. debt under negative review, as politicians continue to debate over a deal to raise the debt ceiling and lower the deficit, as better than expected earnings from JPMorgan Chase for the second quarter of 2011 boosted banking shares, since investors were prepared for lower revenues and earnings from the banking giant.
Moreover, the weekly jobless claims dropped unexpectedly to 405,000 from 427,000 in the previous week, providing optimism over the outlook of the U.S. labor market, meanwhile, PPI fell by 0.4% in June as energy prices dropped, and although core PPI increased above expectations, but it will likely ease over the coming months. Also retail sales rose in June by 0.1% above expectations.
The Federal Reserve Bank’s Chairman Ben Bernanke repeated to the Senates on Thursday the same comments he provided on Wednesday to the House in his semi-annual testimony, as Bernanke signaled on Wednesday that the Feds were ready to undertake a third round of quantitative easing (QE3) if needed.
Stocks in the United States extended the gains by opening on Thursday, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up by nearly 0.50% to trade around 12,551, while the S&P 500 index was up by nearly 0.40% to trade around 1322. European stock indexes were lower before closing on Thursday amid fears Italy could follow the footsteps of Greece and Portugal into fiscal trouble amid the EU debt crisis saga, where FTSE 100 was down by nearly 0.45% to trade at 5880 and the DAX was lower by nearly 0.35% to trade around 7242.
The U.S. dollar was little changed against a basket of major currencies on Thursday, where the U.S. dollar index was trading at 74.92, compared with the opening level at 74.91. The Euro fell against the Dollar, where the EUR/USD pair traded at $1.4179, compared with the opening level at $1.4270, and the British Pound also fell against the Dollar, where the GBP/USD pair traded at $1.6122, down from the opening level at $1.6183.
Gold prices slightly eased after rising to a new all-time record high at $1594.27 an ounce earlier on Thursday, where gold traded around $1586 an ounce, and crude oil prices were little changed to trade around $98 a barrel.
Originally posted here.
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