On Thursday, August 19 investors will be most excited about employment data from several different countries.
First off, Australia published its unemployment rate for July, which was 4.6%, much lower than the forecast of 5%. In addition, the employment change was 2.2K last month, considerably better than the forecast as well.
Later today the United States will publish initial and continuing jobless claims, as well as the 4-week average through mid-August.
Update: Continuing jobless claims were higher than anticipated, but initial claims were lower than predicted. The mixed results will likely prevent investors from getting too excited about the US labor market.
The improvement in initial claims may further bolster the US dollar, which strengthened yesterday after the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy meeting were published.
According to the meeting accounts, most Fed voting members seem to support an early tapering of the central bank’s asset purchases. The Federal Reserve will likely prepare for the hawkish shift immediately and announce it as early as next week.
The effects of the FOMC minutes will continue to be felt today, as stock indices around the globe remain low. Their values crashed yesterday because the hawkish shift in monetary policy in the United States always has a negative impact on stocks.
Meanwhile, the coronavirus pandemic remains a hot topic for the financial sector. Both the United States and the United Kingdom are planning a vaccination campaign to administer a third dose, also known as a booster shot, to everyone who is already fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. The decision came as a study by Oxford University showed that the protection from the Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines can fade as early as four months after the second jab.
The World Health Organization has so far been critical of booster shots, because such policies can motivate developed countries to continue hoarding vaccines, while many others continue to have very limited access to Covid-19 shots.
The shares of vaccine-producing companies like Moderna, Pfizer, and AstraZeneca are probably going to benefit from the third-vaccine campaigns. Meanwhile, car manufacturers are set to take a dive due to the ongoing chip shortages around the world.
