US stocks are hovering just below their high levels. Oil prices continue the downward movement.
US indices stock declined yesterday. The Dow Jones dropped by 0.9%, while the S&P 500 decreased by 0.5%. Notably, the NASDAQ Composite rose by 0.1%
Today, a report on industrial orders in Germany showed an increase of the reading by 4.1% compared to last year. Besides, the figure surpassed the forecast value of 1.9%.
Oil crude inventories in the United States rose unexpectedly over the week by 3.6 million barrels. Experts had predicted a decrease of 3 million barrels. However, there was a sharp drop in gasoline reserves by -5.6 million barrels. Oil prices continue to tumble, holding at weekly lows. Brent crude is trading at $70 as it is unable to jump to $75 due to the steady recovery of the US and EU economies. Oil prices have declined to $70 from $75 in three days. Market participants are now closely monitoring the situation in the oil market.
The coronavirus is again in the limelight. It is spreading rapidly globally. There were 600,000 new cases worldwide yesterday. The US recorded 112,000 cases, while the UK and France had 29,000 cases yesterday. The death toll in the UK and France totaled 50 and 110 respectively. In the US, there were 660 deaths yesterday.
The S&P 500 is trading at 4,400. It is likely to stay in the range of 4.360-4.420. On Wednesday, the ADP report was published. Yet, it turned out to be quite contradictory. ADP private-sector employment rose much less than expected in July. Data from payroll processor ADP showed that private-sector employment rose by 300,000 jobs. Economists had expected private sector employment to spike by 700,000 jobs. The euro/dollar pair rose higher following this report. However, later the report on the strong ISM Services PMI was released. The reading was 64% versus the forecast value of 61%. Hence, the pair fell sharply to the weekly lows.
Today, traders are expecting new data on the US labor market.
The US dollar index is trading at 92.30. It is likely to remain in the range of 92.0–92.60. The US dollar rose steadily yesterday after a strong report on Services PMI data for July. It is likely to reach a strong support level of 91.75.
The USD/CAD pair is trading at 1.2530. It is likely to stay within the range of 1.2480–1.2570. The loonie asserted strength against the greenback despite a 7% drop in oil prices.
Currently, traders are waiting with bated breath for the release of new data on the US labor market, which may affect the trajectory of currency pairs.
