The dollar and euro were little changed on Monday as traders await decisions by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank on how much and how fast they may reduce interest rates, beginning with the ECB on Thursday. Traders see about a 46% probability that European policymakers will lower a key deposit rate by 10 basis points to -0.50 basis point to combat risk from global trade tensions and anemic regional inflation, based on local interest rates markets. “The market is just waiting for what Draghi has to ...

NASDAQ-Adv: 1,465 Dec: 1,707 NYSE-Adv: 1,395 Dec: 1,542 (Source: Nasdaq)

Trading on China’s new Nasdaq-style board for homegrown tech firms hit fever pitch on Monday, with shares up as much as 520% in a wild debut that more than doubled the exchange’s combined market capitalisation and beat veteran investors’ expectations. Sixteen of the first batch of 25 companies – ranging from chip-makers to health care firms – increased their already frothy initial public offering (IPO) prices by 136% on the STAR Market, operated by the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The raucous first day of trade tripped the exchange’s circuit breakers that ...

Stocks are on one of their strongest runs in recent memory. Gains this summer have taken U.S. shares to fresh records, thanks in part to a Federal Reserve in a position to cut interest rates this month. Before the Fed’s first cut in a decade happens, investors will get a fresh read on the health of the economy. Reports on new-home sales and durable-goods orders are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, followed on Friday by a first reading of second-quarter economic growth. Recent data on retail sales, the labor ...

President Donald Trump wants a cheaper dollar, saying earlier this month the United States should match what he says are efforts by other countries to weaken their own currencies – giving them an unfair trade advantage. The comments have prompted speculation the president could order sales of the greenback, which is near a multi-decade high and, according to the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday, at least 6% stronger than warranted by economic fundamentals. “Conditions seem increasingly favorable for the U.S. administration to intervene against perceived (dollar) overvaluation,” Citi economists said ...

European stocks struggled higher on Monday, shrugging off dialled-down expectations for a big U.S. rate cut this month, while escalating tensions in the Middle East boosted safe-haven assets and oil prices. MSCI’s broad index of world stocks slipped 0.2%, pulling further away from the near-year-and-a-half high reached earlier in June after falls in much of Asia. Europe’s regional STOXX 600 index gained 0.1%, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC rose 0.3% and Britain’s FTSE jumped 0.5%. Energy stocks booked the largest gains in Europe after crude oil prices jumped at least ...

Foreign-exchange markets started the week waiting to see how much and how fast policymakers might ease policy, beginning with the European Central Bank on Thursday. The euro weakened to $1.12 in Asian trading as the dollar gained on safe-haven demand amid rising tensions in the Middle East. Positioning data published last week showed that investors remain net long of dollars, unchanged from the previous week. Foreign exchange has been stuck in trading ranges in recent weeks, with expectations for easing by both the Federal Reserve and the ECB more or ...

After facing bipartisan opposition to its plans for Libra, many question the ability of Facebook to pull off an international digital currency. Marketocracy’s Robert Frazier sees Libra bringing billions of people in third-world countries into the world economy , and the trillion-dollar marketplace it would create becoming the future of Facebook. Ken Kam: Facebook has been a very profitable position for you over the last 7 years. What do you think about Libra as a shift in their strategy? Robert Frazier: I think over time it will become the most ...

When New York Fed President John Williams talked about the need to “vaccinate the economy” on Thursday, markets listened. And when the New York Fed itself spoke up later to clarify his remarks, investors were again all ears. In fact, as the U.S. central bank nears what is expected to be its first rate cut in a decade, global markets are hanging on to every clue about the upcoming decision to an unusual degree. Investors are trying to gauge whether policymakers are seriously worried about a sharp economic downturn or ...

NASDAQ-Adv: 1,265 Dec: 1,890 NYSE-Adv: 1,268 Dec: 1,677 (Source: Nasdaq)

The U.S. dollar rose in afternoon trade on Friday as fears of a larger-than-expected 50-basis-point interest rate cut in July abated after the New York Federal Reserve walked back dovish comments from its president the prior day. At a conference on Thursday, New York Fed President John Williams argued for pre-emptive measures to avoid having to deal with too-low inflation and interest rates. The dollar dropped before rebounding after a New York Fed representative subsequently said Williams’ comments were not about immediate policy direction. Williams has “reassured markets that his ...

China’s central bank on Friday lifted its official yuan midpoint to 6.8635 per dollar, the strongest in 2-1/2 weeks, tracking weakness in the greenback after a U.S. Federal Reserve official bolstered market bets of an interest rate cut later this month. Friday’s midpoint was 126 pips, or 0.18 percent, firmer than the previous fix of 6.8761 and was the strongest since July 2. Source: Reuters (Reporting by Winni Zhou and John Ruwitch; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)

The euro fell against a rebounding U.S. dollar on Friday and hit a 2-year low versus the Swiss franc, as investors ramped up bets for a European Central Bank interest rate cut as early as next week. Money markets are now pricing in a roughly 60% chance of a 10 basis point rate cut next week, versus a 40% chance earlier in the week. The euro’s drop reversed some of its gains in the previous session when dovish comments from a key Federal Reserve policymaker bolstered expectations of an aggressive ...

Sterling volatility is getting a shake-up as the risk of the U.K. crashing out of the European Union grows. Measures of expected pound swings over the next three and six months, covering the run-up to and the aftermath of the Oct. 31 Brexit deadline, have surged to the highest among Group-of-10 currencies. The gauges may still climb, being well short of the levels ahead of the original March deadline. U.K. Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay said no-deal risks are “underpriced,” while the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier said the U.K. would ...

Global stocks rose in early trade Friday as investors welcomed comments from a Federal Reserve official that seemed to strengthen the case for an interest-rate cut. Food-and-beverage and oil-and-gas companies supported the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 index, which rose 0.5% to reverse a two-day losing streak. In Asia, most indexes were trading higher ahead of the closing bell. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose more than 1%, buoyed by consumer-goods companies, which have been performing well since data released earlier this week showed a sharp rise in Chinese retail sales. ...