STOCK PRICES AND NEWS
Apple stock continues advance to 200-day moving average after Wednesday's $100 billion announcement Premium
Apple (AAPL) stock advanced on Thursday morning as increased focus shifted to the consumer electronics maker seemingly trading an additional $100 billion manufacturing investment for tariff exemptions with the Trump administration.
Latest stock news
NASDAQ
Latest Nasdaq News
S&P 500
Latest S&P 500 Analysis
US EQUITY INDICES
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is a price-weighted average of 30 most-traded stocks traded in the United States (US). It is often viewed as representative of “old economy” stocks and is considered a leading indicator for international investment.
While the Dow reflects the big money, the Standard and Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) is often the preferred gauge of equity markets due to its broad market coverage. The S&P 500 is a market value-weighted index comprising 500 large US stocks, covering about 75% of the US equity market.
The Nasdaq Composite is highly followed in the US as a performance indicator for technology and growth companies. The Nasdaq-100, which includes 100 of the largest non-financial companies in the Nasdaq Composite, accounts for about 80% of the index weighting of the Nasdaq Composite. The Nasdaq Composite is a capitalization-weighted index and it includes both US and non-US companies listed on the Nasdaq stock market. The NASDAQ represents the speculative retail money.
Generally speaking, a rise in the US equity markets tends to increase investors' risk appetite attracting foreign investment to the US equity market and pumping the US Dollar (USD) higher.
EUROPEAN EQUITY INDICES
Germany DAX - Daily
UK FTSE 100 - Daily
The DAX is a stock market index consisting of the 40 major German blue chip companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. It is a total return index and prices are taken from the Xetra trading venue.
The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 (FTSE 100), informally known as the “Footsie”, is a market capitalization-weighted index representing the top 100 blue-chip companies on the London Stock Exchange. The index represents over 80% of the total market capitalization in the United Kingdom (UK). Stocks in the FTSE 100 are free-float weighted, ensuring that only the investable opportunity set is included in the index.
JAPANESE EQUITY INDICES
The Nikkei 225, commonly called the Nikkei, is a stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). It is a price-weighted index, operating in Japanese Yen (JPY), that measures the performance of 225 highly capitalized and liquid publicly owned companies in Japan. It has been calculated daily by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) newspaper since 1970.
Nikkei225 - Daily
Relationships between stocks and currencies
Currencies are probably the most difficult asset class to fit into a consistent intermarket model. For instance, when investors purchase stocks from a particular country, they must pay in the local currency, increasing the demand for that currency. Conversely, a strong currency can make bonds and stocks more attractive to foreign investors.
However, the correlation between stocks and currencies is not always clear. There are often response lags between the reactions of Forex and equities markets, leaving investors holding foreign equities exposed to exchange rate fluctuations.
This correlation is also fragile among international equity markets. The so-called global divergences occur when the stock market in one country starts performing better than the stock market in another country. This is often driven by currency capital flows from the country with the weaker stock market to the country with the stronger one.
US Dollar Index - Daily
Latest STOCK INDICES Analysis
Editors' picks
EUR/USD trims losses, back above 1.1650
EUR/USD remains slightly on the back foot on Friday, trading around 1.1650 amid some modest recovery in the US Dollar. Investors, in the meantime, are expected to shift their attention to next week's US inflation data release. Fed officials' comments and trade news also remain in focus.
GBP/USD turns positive near 1.3450
GBP/USD now flirts with the 1.3450 zone, managing to bounce off daily lows as the Greenback’s advance loses some traction. The British Pound remains bolstered by the BoE's hawkish cut at its meeting on Thursday. Cable remains en route to close the week with marked gains.
USD/JPY rises beyond 147.50 amid a broadly firmer US Dollar
The US Dollar is reverting to the previous two days' losses as investors welcomed reports suggesting that Fed Governor Waller is emerging as a top candidate for the replacement of Chair Powell in May, while a moderate risk appetite is weighing on the safe-haven Yen. Waller is a dove and was appointed by Trump during his first term.
Gold keeps the rangebound mood near $3,400
Gold seems to have entered a consolidation phase around $3,400 per troy ounce, giving up some gains after previous highs over $3,410. The announcement that the United States would tax one-kilo and 100-ounce gold bars is also supportive of the precious metal.
WTI tumbles to below $63.00 as tariff concerns mount
West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $62.90 during the early European trading hours on Friday. The WTI trades in negative territory for the seventh consecutive day and heads for the biggest weekly loss since June.