Markets mixed as US economy shrinks - 29.7.2022

The Dollar weakening continues 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, slid 0.2% Thursday while the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported more Americans applied for initial jobless claims last week than expected while the prior week’s estimate was revised upward.

EUR/USD ended marginally lower Thursday while GBP/USD slowed its advancing after the federal statistics department Destatis report inflation rate in Germany ticked down to 7.5% in July from 7.6% in June. Both euro and Pound are higher against the Dollar currently. USD/JPY accelerated its retreating yesterday while AUD/USD reversed its advancing with both Australian dollar and yen higher against the Greenback currently.

US stock indexes futures are up currently ahead of Personal Consumption Expenditures report at 14:30 CET with the yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes down at 2.79%. The three main US stock benchmarks closed solidly up yesterday recording gains in the range of 1.0% to 1.2% despite GDP data showing US fell into technical recession after second straight quarterly decline.

European stock market futures are up today after closing higher Thursday led by banking shares. Asian stock indexes futures are mixed currently with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng leading losses while Beijing omitted reference to its full-year GDP growth target after a high-level Communist Party meeting, instead focusing on achieving the best possible results for the economy this year.

Brent is edging higher presently amid reports Russia's Sakhalin Energy Investment Co has asked its liquefied natural gas (LNG) customers to make payments via a Moscow unit of a European bank and is negotiating to switch payment currencies away from US dollars to alternative currencies the Chinese yuan, the Japanese yen and South Korean won. Prices ended mixed Thursday after the Energy Information Administration report US gasoline stocks consumption rose while US crude inventories fell last week. The US oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) slumped 0.9% but is higher currently. Brent crude added 0.5% to $107.14 a barrel on Thursday.