Equities track Wall Street advance - 8.2.2024

The Dollar is steady 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, slipped 0.2% Wednesday.

Both EUR/USD and GBP/USD continued advancing on Wednesday while the federal statistics office Destatis reported German industrial production declined more than expected in December. Both euro and Pound are higher against the dollar currently. USD/JPY reversed its sliding while AUD/USD reversed its climbing yesterday with both the yen and the Australian dollar lower against the Greenback currently.

The US stock index futures are higher currently ahead of Department of Labor unemployment claims report at 14:30 CET today. The three main US stock indexes ended up on Wednesday in the range from 0.4% to 1.0% led by technology shares.

European stock indexes futures are higher currently after indexes closed down yesterday with oil and gas stocks leading losses. Asian stock indexes futures are mostly higher today with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index defying the trend as official data showed Chinese consumer inflation grew less than expected in January, while producer inflation shrank for a sixteenth consecutive month.

Brent is extending gains presently. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported US crude stockpiles rose by above expected 5.5 million barrels last week. Meanwhile, US gasoline stocks fell unexpectedly by 3.15 million barrels last week. The US oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures added 0.75% and is higher currently. Brent crude gained 0.79% to $79.21 a barrel on Wednesday.