U.S. Markets Mixed; Waiting Fed Announcement
Stocks in the U.S. market are currently trading mixed with low volumes, as investors wait for major announcements from corporations and the Federal Reserve.
The Federal Reserve is expected to keep rates the same in its review announcement today. Tech giants including Apple are set to announce their quarterly results and there is pressure on these stocks, with Apple down more than 2%.
Stoxx Europe is up by 0.43%
Dow Jones is down by 0.12%
NASDAQ is up by 0.27%
Sydney Lockdown Extended For Another 4 Weeks
The Australian government on Wednesday extended the lockdown in Sydney by four weeks. In the last 24 hours, Sydney reported 177 new cases and 11 deaths. The state has already been lockdown for the last five weeks and the restrictions will continue till August 28.
Pfizer Rises Over The Better Revenue Expectations From Vaccine Shots
Pfizer on Wednesday announced an improved forecast for the sales of the Covid-19 vaccine by 28.8% to $33.5 billion(Rs 2,49,381 crores) compared to the previous forecast of $26 billion(Rs 1,93,549 crores). The company expects to sell 2.1 billion doses of the Covid-19 vaccine that it developed with Germany’s BioNTech this year. At the time of writing the stock is more than 2% up on NYSE.
GameStop To Rebrand Canadian Stores Of EB Games
GameStop Corporation on Wednesday said it has decided to rebrand its subsidiary, EB Games in Canada by the end of 2021. EB Games has about 4000 stores in Canada and the decision is taken based on the feedback from customers and shareholders.
737 MAX Helps Boeing To Post Good Profit Numbers
American aerospace company Boeing on Wednesday reported its first profit numbers in about two years. The operating profit is at $755 million(Rs 5,620 crores) in the second quarter against a loss of $3.32 billion(Rs 24,714 crores) last year. The company said it is currently building 16 737 MAX jets per month. The Revenue rose 44% to about $17 billion(YoY) and the stock is up by nearly 5% on NYSE
Bitcoin in Longest Winning Streak in 2021
Recovery in the world’s largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, has now put it on its longest winning streak this whole year. Bitcoin moved up 7.5% to cross even $40,900 today, gaining for the eighth day. Other coins including Ethereum climbed.
Iron Ore Miner Rio Tinto Pays Rs 68,000 Crores Dividend
The world’s biggest iron ore miner, Rio Tinto Group, has reported its highest-ever interim profits. The company has said it will pay $9.1 Billion(~Rs 68,000 crores) in dividends to its shareholders.
Iron ore miners around the world have been reaping profits from the rally in commodity prices. Thousands of crores pumped into relief packages have triggered heavy buying for commodities like iron ore and copper. However, this is also pushing up inflation around the world.
Second Time Covid-19 Patients Have Milder Symptoms: Report
Patients who get affected by Covid-19 for a second time currently report to show lower viral load. This means that they will have milder symptoms and illnesses.
Data from the Office for National Statistics in the U.K has said this from an analysis of test results from April to July. Consistently, higher viral loads were seen in the first round of infection.
Crude Oil Trading Firm; Inventory Data Bullish
West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil is trading with firm support in New York after the inventory data from the U.S. once again gave a bullish signal.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) has reported that US crude inventories fell by 4.7 million barrels for last week. This is indicative of high demand for oil, as the summer travel season continues. WTI Crude is currently trading around $72/barrel in the market and is up more than 10% from prices of 20th July.
