U.S. claims for jobless benefits for citizens dropped below 1 million for the first time in recent memory. However, the drop was not due to a spike in new jobs or a return to regular employment. Instead, it was caused by the expiration of jobless benefits to many workers that have been relying on the government assistance during the Covid-19 shutdown.
Wall St appeared to take heed of this early on and the markets stuttered to start the day. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones both dipped following the opening bell. At time of writing both indices remain down slightly over Wednesday’s close.
Calendar
12:30 UTC
US retail sales figures for July will be released. Forecasts put the number at an increase of 1% over the previous month. Last month’s increase was 7% indicating that analysts don’t believe sales are dropping, but not increasing significantly.
Assets for trading: Dow Jones, S&P 500, and USD currency pairs
14:00 UTC
The US Consumer Sentiment Index (CSI) for August will be released with expectations of a slight dropoff from last month’s 72 to 71. If the actual figure is below the forecast, look for investors on Wall Street to ease off.
Assets for trading: NASDAQ, Dow Jones, S&P 500
News
Intel announced that new transistor technology could boost chip performance by 20%. Affects AMD
Covid-19 is reducing the availability of foreign workers in Australia. Affects AUD/USD
UK/New Zealand trade talks continue to lag disappointing leaders. Affects GBP/NZD
Canadian counter tariffs on the U.S. to take effect after aluminum row. Affects USD/CAD
Technical Analysis
Brent
Despite all the efforts of oil producers to paint a rosy image of the oil market, $45 continues to maintain a solid resistance level. The simple truth is that global oil demand is just not rising and producers aren’t lowering production enough to offset this condition.
Look for Brent to fall again slightly to the area of $40-$42 today.
USD/CAD
The Candian dollar has still not rebounded after a steady decline, but is now hitting solid support territory. Look for Buy opportunities if it dips below the threshold of 1. There will likely be several of these so dump your positions for a profit and reload when/if it drops below the threshold again.
Gold
Gold has maintained a steady drop recently losing over $100 in value, but has been stuck in sideways movement around $1945 for a day now. This could be a great opportunity to Buy and get some value if global economic news turns increasingly sour.
Financial News on This Day in History
1935 — U.S. President Franklin D Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law creating the first mandatory pension program in the United States for seniors, the disabled, and their dependents.
1945 — The unconditional surrender of Japan is announced in the United States bringing a final end to the Second World War.