- In the absence of Wall Street, yesterday's session saw gains in the major European indices, which followed the record closings of US indices on Wednesday and gains in the major Asian benchmarks, where weakness in China is still evident. Also today, U.S. index contracts are trading slightly higher today, ahead of important Non-Farm Payrolls data from American labour market scheduled on 1:30 PM BST
- The session on Asian markets today was conducted in a mixed mood. The Hang Seng Index lost more than 0.9%, while Japan's Nikkei and Topix benchmarks retreated 0.2% and nearly 0.5%, respectively. South Korea's KOSPI index gained more than 1.3%, driven by higher than expected Samsung Q2 results. Australian ASX index retreated slightly, by 0.2%.
- British Labour Party has officially won enough seats in UK election to gain a majority in parliament. The Labour Party leader, Keir Starmer, will probably be a new, British prime minister. GBPUSD didn't react to the election results, and pair continue to rise since morning
- Bitcoin is losing more than 7% and has retreated to the $54,000 level, erasing a huge amount of gains caused in 2024 by inflows into U.S. ETFs; there is panic in the cryptocurrency market.
- Most altcoins are seeing double-digit declines, in some cases erasing almost entirely the gains of the past several months. Ethereum has retreated nearly 9% and is trading below $2,900
- Energy commodity futures are trading under the dash; NATGAS loses nearly 1.5%, and WTI and Brent crude oil retreats within 0.5%.
- Gold and silver futures are trading up slightly; silver is trading at $30.5 per ounce, and gold is holding levels near $2360
- We are seeing a slight weakening of the U.S. dollar; USDIDX futures retreat 0.1% and EURUSD gains slightly
- Retail sales in the Singapore region rose 2.2% y/y vs. an expected 0.15% increase and a -1.2% drop previously; on a monthly basis, the increase was 2.4% vs. a -2.7% drop previously
- Investors are slowly preparing for the U.S. corporate earnings season; traditionally, the major banks and financial sector companies will open the season next week
