The dollar edged up in early London trading on Friday and currency traders’ risk appetite was boosted only slightly by better-than-expected jobs data in the United States, as surging coronavirus cases continued to taper market optimism. U.S. payrolls surged on Thursday but the reaction in currencies was limited. Even after two months of job recovery from May, the U.S. economy has recovered just over a third of an historic plunge of 20.787 million jobs lost in April. Broader market sentiment improved in the U.S. session after the jobs data and ...

More hedge funds went out of business during the first three months of 2020 than at any other time since 2015 as the coronavirus led to heavy losses and investors pulled out billions in assets. Hedge Fund Research reported on Tuesday that 304 funds liquidated around the world in the first quarter, marking the highest level since the fourth quarter of 2015 when 305 funds shut down. The number of closures is 50% higher than it was during the last three months of 2019 when 198 funds were liquidated, HFR ...

U.S. stock futures ticked down Wednesday, signaling that the equity market will start the third quarter on a tepid note after closing out its best three months in more than 20 years. Futures tied to the S&P 500 slipped 0.2%, suggesting the stocks benchmark will open slightly lower. The S&P 500 on Tuesday completed its biggest one-quarter gain since 1998, capping a rally fueled by the Federal Reserve’s aggressive support for financial markets and signs of an early recovery in economic activity. Investors will have a fresh chance to assess ...

Global stocks struggled for momentum on Wednesday as improving economic data was offset by concern that surging coronavirus cases in the United States could derail the world’s recovery before it properly begins. Germany’s manufacturing sector contracted at a slower pace in June, while French factory activity rebounded into growth, data showed. German retail sales rose sharply in May, reflecting a rebound in private consumption, while a recovery in China’s factory activity offered further signs that the world’s second largest economy may have passed the worst of the devastation caused by ...

U.S. index futures dipped on the last trading day of the second quarter on Tuesday as coronavirus-related worries and simmering U.S.-China tensions weighed on sentiment at the end of what is expected to be the S&P 500’s best quarter since 1998. The benchmark index has rebounded about 18% since April on a raft of fiscal and monetary stimulus and the easing of restrictions, but is still down about 5% on the year as a resurgence in coronavirus cases raises fears of another round of lockdowns. With California and Texas marking ...

Asian shares advanced on Tuesday as positive economic data from China and the United States helped to close out a strong quarter, though a renewed surge in global coronavirus cases underlined a challenging investment climate. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.51%, on course for its highest quarterly gain in nearly 11 years. However, it was not clear whether the optimism would carry over into European trading, with EUROSTOXX 50 futures losing 0.7%, FTSE futures shedding 0.36%, and E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 down 0.24%. ...

European stocks and U.S. stock futures wavered at the start of the week, as investors worried that any new wave of coronavirus infections could hold back a global economic recovery. The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.3%, with stocks in the region led higher by Germany’s Dax index. In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell about 1.2%, while the Shanghai Composite pulled back 0.6%. South Korea’s Kospi Composite declined around 2%. U.S. stock futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ...

European stocks inched higher on Friday, propped up by positive company updates, although investors remained cautious about a resurgence in U.S. COVID-19 cases and its impact on the global economy. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.4%, with technology , industrial and media companies leading sectoral gains. For the week, however, the STOXX 600 was on course to fall 1%. Markets this week have swung between fears of a second wave of coronavirus cases, particularly in the United States, and optimism over improving economic data in Europe as many ...

World stocks spluttered to their lowest level in more than a week on Thursday, as a surge in U.S. coronavirus cases and an IMF warning of an almost 5% plunge in the global economy this year hit the bulls again. Asia suffered its biggest drop in eight sessions overnight and though Europe’s STOXX 600 recovered from an early 1% fall it remained unsteady, while Wall Street was expected to open 0.5% in the red. After a white-hot few months for markets that has seen world stocks rebound nearly 40% , ...

European stocks swung to positive territory on Thursday, with a jump in shares of Lufthansa and Bayer helping Germany outperform as investors weighed the economic risks of a number of upturns in coronavirus infections. After falling as much as 1.2% earlier in the session, the pan-European STOXX 600 edged up 0.3%, led higher by automakers, utilities and healthcare companies. Germany’s DAX gained 0.8%, boosted by a 1% rise in Bayer AG after it agreed to pay as much as $10.9 billion to settle U.S. lawsuits claiming that its widely used ...

European stocks fell from a two-week high on Wednesday as investors turned cautious following a surge in the number of coronavirus cases globally. The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 1.5%, with the economically sensitive sectors such as travel & leisure, automakers and banks leading declines. Many U.S. states reported record daily increases in COVID-19 infections amid easing of lockdowns, while a media report that European Union countries are prepared to bar entry to Americans raised worries of further restrictions. “While the economic impact of such measures will be less than shutting ...

Global stocks rose Tuesday as investors cheered indicators showing that manufacturing and services sectors around the world have started to recover as lockdowns ease. Futures tied to the S&P 500 gained 0.8%, suggesting that U.S. stocks may continue to edge higher after the opening bell. The preliminary results for the June surveys of American purchasing managers, due to be released at 9:45 a.m. ET, are expected to show that a contraction in the manufacturing and services sectors is easing. The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 rose 1.4% after data from France ...

Gold, forests, property stocks, inflation-linked bonds – these are just some of the assets investors are pouring money into on the view that the recent explosion of government spending and central bank stimulus may finally rouse inflation from its decade-long slumber. With the world economy forecast to shrink 6% this year, it may seem like a strange time to fret about inflation. And sure enough, market-based gauges suggest an uptrend in prices may not trouble investors for years. U.S. and euro zone inflation gauges indicate that annual price growth will ...

World stocks and risk currencies rallied on Tuesday on encouraging global economic data and assurances from U.S. President Donald Trump that the U.S.-China trade deal remained “fully intact” after confusion over its fate had emerged. Jitters had struck Asian markets after White House adviser Peter Navarro said the trade deal with China was “over”, linking the breakdown in part to anger over Beijing not sounding the alarm earlier about the coronavirus outbreak. The headlines prompted a brisk selloff but sentiment quickly recovered when Navarro, an outspoken critic of China, said ...

A recovery in world stocks faltered on Monday as the threat of rising coronavirus infections in parts of Europe and the United States curbed risk appetite, boosting demand for safe-haven gold. European stocks fell 0.3% at the open after Germany’s coronavirus reproduction rate rose over the weekend to 2.88 on Sunday from 1.06 on Friday, health authorities said. The rise, mainly driven by outbreaks in meat processing plants, brings with it the possibility of renewed restrictions on activity, a move that could end any economic rebound. “I regard the German ...