U.S. Markets Continue to Move Up; Earnings in Focus

Momentum slowed once again in the market, after two days of a reversal rally. S&P 500 and other indices are mildly in the red after the government published worse than expected jobless claims data.

Companies linked to a broader re-opening of the economy lagged behind big technology firms. 

Stoxx Europe is up 0.57%
Dow Jones is down 0.20%
NASDAQ is down 0.03%

U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Rises

The U.S Labor Department said on Thursday the jobless claims increased 51,000 to a seasonally adjusted 4,19,000 for the week ended July 17. The analysts were expecting better numbers as the Covid situation is cooling down in the U.S.

Visa Agrees To Buy Cross-Border Payments Provider Currencycloud

American financial services firm on Thursday agreed to buy British cross-border payment provider Currencycloud at a valuation of $962.01 million(Rs 7,160 crores). Currencycloudallows cross-border payments for nearly 500 banking and technology companies and Visa has been a shareholder in the company from 2020.

Daimler To Invest More In Electric Vehicle Segment

The Mercedes-Benz maker- Daimler announced the plans to invest more than $47 billion (Rs 3,49,841 crores) to develop the battery for electric vehicles during a period between 2022 and 2030. The company aims to be ready for an all-electric car market by 2030.

China Vice Premier Says Property Market Won’t Be A Vehicle For Short Term Economic Stimulus

Vice-Premier of China, Han Zheng said on Thursday the country will not consider the property market as a vehicle for short-term economic stimulus. He added that local governments should strictly follow the terms for financing property developers, including bank loans, and improve land pricing mechanisms. 

Chipmakers now worried about oversupply

In a major concern to chipmakers around the world, there are now concerns of oversupply in the industry. The unexpected increase in demand is now increasing fears the industry will be adding so much capacity in the years ahead as demand subsides that profits will take a hit.

Customers were panic buying chips during the pandemic, which could have created an artificial bubble of sales that encouraged these companies to produce more.