All three main US indexes notch fresh record closes again - 20.12.2019

Dollar strengthening resumed

US stocks rally was intact on Thursday supported by strong labor market data. The S&P 500 gained 0.9% to new record 3205.37. The Dow Jones industrial average advanced 0.5% to fresh record 28376.9. Nasdaq composite index rallied 0.7% to 8887.22. The dollar strengthening halted despite data showing new applications for unemployment benefits fell during last week by 18,000 to a seasonally adjusted 234,000: live dollar index data show the ICE US Dollar index, a measure of the dollar’s strength against a basket of six rival currencies, slipped 0.01% to 97.39 but is higher currently. Futures on US stock indices point to lower openings today.

Dax 30 dips while European indexes gain

European stock markets mostly resumed advancing on Thursday. EUR/USD turned higher yesterday while GBP/USD accelerated its slide as the Bank of England held its main interest rate steady at 0.75% and maintained the dovish stance, while it cut the Q4 UK GDP growth forecast from +0.2% to +0.1%. Pound is higher currently while euro has turned lower. The Stoxx Europe 600 index ended 0.1% higher. Germany’s DAX 30 however slipped 0.1% to 13211.96. France’s CAC 40 added 0.2% and UK’s FTSE 100 gained 0.2% to 7573.82.

Shanghai Composite leads Asian indexes retreat

Asian stock indices are mostly lower today. Nikkei ended down 0.2% at 23816.63 with yen climb against dollar continuing. Chinese stocks are mixed: the Shanghai Composite Index is down 0.4% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is 0.2% higher. Australia’s All Ordinaries Index lost another 0.3% as Australian dollar slowed its climb against the greenback.

Saudi Aramco shares slide on profit taking while Brent climb continues

Brent futures prices are edging high today. Prices ended higher yesterday for sixth consecutive session: February Brent crude rose 0.6% to $66.54 a barrel on Thursday. Despite upward momentum in oil prices Saudi Aramco shares fell for a third straight session today. The drop in Aramco price reflects profit taking by investors after the stock was included Wednesday in MSCI’s main gauge tracking emerging-market stocks and also in the Saudi index. Aramco slid 3.3% to 35.50 riyals in Riyadh, underperforming the Tadawul All Share Index, which rose 0.5%. The stock is currently down about 6% from the highest closing price reached on Monday. The decline is more than a third of stock’s gain since the biggest initial public offering in the world on December 11.

Gold slips as dollar strengthens

Gold prices are edging lower today. Prices ended higher yesterday as dollar strengthening halted and House of Representatives voted for President Trump’s impeachment. February gold gained 0.4% to $1484.40 an ounce.