As the last Thursday of April, today there are lots of economic reports scheduled for publication.
In Europe, Spain published a slightly lower unemployment rate for the first quarter of 2021 than expected, though joblessness still remains worryingly high at 15.98%.
In Germany the employment change report for April was worse than anticipated, but the overall unemployment rate was unchanged at 6%. Germany will also publish its April inflation data later today.
Moreover, the eurozone-wide reports on economic and industrial sentiment were both better than anticipated, while the final consumer confidence report met the forecast of -8.1.
The United States will deliver several interesting reports today. As is characteristic of any Thursday, the US will publish initial and continuing jobless claims reports today. More importantly, the GDP growth rate report for the first three months of 2021 is expected today.
Meanwhile, the US stock market remains a very exciting playground for investors today. Both Amazon and Facebook published record earnings in the previous session, as did Qualcomm. Today more big companies will reveal their own numbers, including Amazon and Twitter.
All major US stock indices are broadly up today, thanks in part to the positive earnings reports from some of the biggest companies in the United States. The rally is also bolstered by the end of the Federal Reserve’s meeting, which brought yet another reassurance that the central bank will stay dovish for the time being.
The comments by the Federal Reserve and the good performance of the US economy at the moment are set to once again reignite the reflation trading trend. We are seeing US Treasury bond yields on the rise again.
Just like at the beginning of the week, commodities have stayed strong. Copper is one of the most promising instruments to invest in right now. Nickel today managed to reach its highest level in over a year.
Oil prices are also on the rise today due to the improving economic outlook and the drop in the value of the USD, in which they are quoted. The Brent rose to $67.68, while the WTI climbed to $64.73.
