Equities rise after Japan central bank yield control policy tweak - 28.7.2023

The Dollar strengthening is intact currently. The live dollar index data show the ICE US Dollar index, a measure of the dollar’s strength against a basket of six rival currencies, jumped 0.8% Thursday while the Department of Labor data showed the number of Americans who sought unemployment benefits over the last week was lower than the forecast while their number declined.

Both GBP/USD and EUR/USD reversed their climbing on Thursday while the European Central Bank brought its main interest rate up to 3.75% but also hinted at a possible pause to rate hikes. USD/JPY continued its sliding while AUD/USD accelerated its reaerating as data showed Australian retail sales unexpectedly fell in June.

US stock indexes futures are up currently as the yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes ticked up to 4.011%. The three main stock benchmarks ended down on Thursday in the range of -0.67% to -0.55% while the Bureau of Economic Analysis data showed US second-quarter gross domestic product growth exceeded expectations.

European stock indexes are extending gains currently after closing higher on Thursday with media and tech shares leading gains. Asian stock indexes futures are mostly higher today with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng leading gains buoyed by real estate stocks.

Brent is advancing currently. Prices ended higher yesterday Energy Agency (IEA) data showed on Wednesday US crude oil inventories fell last week less than analysts expected. The US oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) added 1.7% and is higher currently. Brent crude rose 1.6% to $84.35 a barrel on Thursday.