The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) is scheduled to release its October Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) on Wednesday. The report, a trusted measure of business performance and widely considered a leading indicator of economic activity, is expected to reflect moderate expansion in the services sector. Due to delays and cancellations of key macroeconomic data releases due to the ongoing US government shutdown, the ISM Services PMI report could significantly impact the US Dollar (USD) valuation in the near term. What to expect from the ISM Services PMI report? Markets expect...
Private businesses in the US added 155K workers to their payrolls in March 2025, following an upwardly revised 84K in February and above expectations of 105K. Hiring was fairly broad based, with the services sector adding 132K jobs, namely professional and business services (57K) and financial activities (38K). Also, manufacturing contributed 21K and leisure and hospitality added 17K. In contrast, trade, transportation and utilities saw a loss of 6K jobs and natural resources and mining declined by 3K. "Despite policy uncertainty and downbeat consumers, the bottom line is this: The March...
The rollout of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs regime is dampening sentiment toward the dollar and prompting investors to look elsewhere for their foreign exchange (FX) trades, strategists told CNBC. The dollar index, which measures the value of the greenback against a basket of major rivals, was little changed on Wednesday morning. The U.S. currency began a steady rise in late 2024 that peaked in mid-January — however, the dollar index has steadily pared some of those gains in recent weeks. The dollar has historically been widely seen as a safe haven asset for investors, given its...
Japan's 10-year government bond yield dropped below 1.5% on Wednesday, hitting a four-week low as concerns over upcoming US tariffs fueled demand for safe-haven assets. President Donald Trump is set to impose reciprocal tariffs on countries that levy duties on US goods, along with additional levies on car imports—posing risks to Japan's key export sector. Meanwhile, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda warned that the new US tariffs could significantly impact global trade and economic growth. Earlier data showed that Japanese business sentiment weakened in the first quarter amid mounting...
The German economy will recover from its prolonged period of weakness very slowly, growing by only 0.2% this year, according to the new forecasts of Germany's banks' association, seen by Reuters on Wednesday.The association had previously forecast growth of 0.7% for this year in its forecasts published in September.The economy is not expected to recover noticeably until 2026, with growth of 1.4%, the Association of German Banks said.The German economy has contracted for two consecutive years and its prospects for this year have worsened after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 25%...
US job openings fell in February while layoffs remained subdued, adding to evidence of a labor market that's only gradually cooling. The number of available positions decreased to 7.57 million from a revised 7.76 million reading in January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, known as JOLTS, showed Tuesday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 7.66 million openings. The pullback in openings was driven by declines in retail trade, financial activities and accommodation and food services. After steadily declining...
Asia-Pacific markets traded higher, tracking Wall Street gains overnight.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.41% after hitting a fresh record high on Thursday, while the Topix added 0.61%. South...
Both the STOXX 50 and STOXX 600 hovered around the flatline on Friday, as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of further developments in trade talks between US President Trump and Chinese...
US President Donald Trump announced tariff cuts on fentanyl-related products from China, reducing them from 20% to 10%. This decision is part of an agreement reached at a summit in South Korea last...