Tag: Gold & Commodities

Euro Zone Retail Sales Up in October on Non-Food Purchases

BRUSSELS—Euro zone retail sales rose in line with expectations in October as consumers spent more on non-food purchases, particularly online, data from Eurostat showed on Friday. Retail sales, a proxy for consumer demand, in the 19 countries sharing the euro, gained 0.2 percent month-on-month in October and were up 1.4 percent from a year earlier,…


World Shares Mostly Higher After Broad Rally on Wall Street

BANGKOK—Stocks were mostly higher in Europe and Asia after a broad rally on Wall Street as investors awaited U.S. employment and other data due out Friday. Concerns over the spread of the new coronavirus variant and measures governments are taking to restrain it remained, but appeared to have been assuaged by reports that its symptoms…


S&P 500, Dow Surge Over 1 Percent on Boost From Financials, Boeing

The Dow and the S&P 500 rebounded on Thursday, boosted by financial shares and Boeing in a week so far marked by wild swings on rising angst about the spread of the new Omicron coronavirus variant globally. Boeing Co. jumped 5.7 percent after China’s aviation authority issued an airworthiness directive on the 737 MAX that…


OPEC+ Oil Output Decision in the Balance as Omicron Hammers Prices

LONDON—OPEC and its allies will decide on Thursday whether to release more oil into the market or restrain supply amid big gyrations in crude prices, a U.S. release from oil reserves, and fears over the new Omicron coronavirus variant. Brent has tumbled to about $70 a barrel, down from October’s three-year highs above $86. Prices…


Global Markets Mixed After Wall Street Decline, Virus Unease

BEIJING—Global stocks and Wall Street futures were mixed Thursday as traders tried to figure out the potential impact of the latest coronavirus variant. London and Frankfurt opened lower and Shanghai and Tokyo fell. Hong Kong advanced. It is unclear whether omicron is more dangerous than other variants. But governments have responded by tightening travel controls….


Factories Facing Supply Headaches as Omicron Risks Emerge

LONDON/TOKYO—Global factory activity accelerated in November although crippling supply bottlenecks remained, putting a cap on output and driving up the cost of raw materials, according to surveys published on Wednesday. Towards the end of the month, the newly-detected Omicron coronavirus variant emerged as a fresh worry for policymakers, who are already trying to pilot recovering…


OECD Says Inflation Is Main Risk to Economic Outlook

PARIS—The main risk to an otherwise upbeat global economic outlook is that the current inflation spike proves longer and rises further than currently expected, the OECD said on Wednesday. Global growth is set to hit 5.6 percent this year before moderating to 4.5 percent in 2022 and 3.2 percent in 2023, the Organisation for Economic…


European Stocks Seen Reaching New Records in 2022: Poll

LONDON/MILAN—Uncertainty about the COVID-19 pandemic has not dented prospects for European stocks to hit record highs in 2022, boosted by a recovery in corporate profits, according to a Reuters poll of 23 fund managers, strategists, and brokers. The poll, conducted over the past two weeks, predicted Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 blue chip indexes…


OPEC+ Begins Two Days of Talks Amid Oil Rout

LONDON—OPEC and its allies begin two days of meetings on Wednesday to decide whether to release more oil into the market or restrain supply amid an oil price rout and fears the Omicron coronavirus variant could weaken global energy demand. Oil prices fell to near $70 a barrel on Tuesday from as high as $86…


Stocks Roar Higher as Traders Park COVID-19 and Fed Jitters

LONDON—Stock markets roared higher on Wednesday, reversing much of the previous session’s losses, as investors used the dip in prices to bet the latest COVID-19 variant would not derail the economic recovery. The EUROSTOXX rose 1.1 percent in early trading while Britain’s FTSE 100 rallied 1.3 percent and Germany’s DAX 0.75 percent. Wall Street futures…