US equities advance on strong retailers earnings - 22.8.2019

Dollar rise supported by Fed minutes

US stock indexes resumed advancing on Wednesday buoyed by strong earnings of retailers despite another Treasury yield curve inversion. The S&P 500 gained 0.8% to 2924 . The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.9% to 26204. Nasdaq advanced 0.9% to 8020. The dollar strengthening resumed after the minutes from Federal Reserve’s July meeting showed policy makers did not view July’s quarter point rate cut as the beginning of a series of cuts: 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, inched up 0.1% to 98.26 and is higher currently. Stock index futures point to higher market openings today.

CAC 40 paces European indexes recovery

European stocks recovered on Wednesday. Both the GBP/USD and EUR/USD turned lower yesterday with both pairs sliding currently. The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 1.1% led by auto shares. Germany’s DAX 30 advanced 1.3%. France’s CAC 40 rallied 1.7% and UK’s FTSE 100 gained 1.1% to 7203.97.

Hang Seng falls while Asian indexes gain

Asian stock indices are mixed today after Fed minutes showed policy makers wanted to signal they were not on a path to more easing with July rate cut. Nikkei ended 0.02% higher at 20628.01 despite yen resuming its climb against the dollar as data showed services activity expanded at the fastest pace in almost two years. Chinese stocks are mixed: the Shanghai Composite Index is up 0.1% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is 1.0% lower. Australia’s All Ordinaries Index turned 0.3% higher as the Australian dollar resumed its slide against the greenback.

Brent gains after first drop in US crude inventories in three weeks

Brent futures prices are lower today. Prices rose yesterday after the Energy Information Administration report US crude inventories fell last week after two increases, dropping by 2.7 million barrels, while gasoline inventories gained by 300 thousand barrels. October Brent crude rose 0.5% to $60.30 a barrel on Wednesday.