Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1500944
SYMBOL LAST CHANGE % HIGH LOW DOW JONES – US 33,561.80 -56.88 -0.17% 33,656.40 33,509.70 NASDAQ – US 12,179.50 +0.00 +0.00% 12,216.10 12,174.10 S&P 500 – US 4,119.17 -18.95 -0.46% 4,130.35 4,116.65 RUSSELL 2000 – US 1,749.68 -4.79 -0.27% 1,756.09 1,737.70 S&P TSX – CANADA 20,585.70 +0.58 +0.00% 20,599.00 20,455.50 IPC – MEXICO 55,452.70 +419.61 +0.76% 55,497.80 54,899.40 FTSE – UK 7,750.80 -13.29 -0.17% 7,778.98 7,750.37 CAC 40 – FRANCE 7,373.77 -23.40 -0.32% 7,416.32 7,373.20 DAX 40 – GERMANY 15,886.20 -69.32 -0.43% 15,980.80 15,884.00 FTSE MIB – ITALY 27,325.70 -57.80 -0.21% 27,476.40 27,324.70 MICEX – RUSSIA 2,524.31 -3.28 -0.13% 2,535.03 2,483.79 NIKKEI 225 – JAPAN 29,122.20 -120.64 -0.41% 29,195.20 29,070.10 SHANGHAI COMPOSITE – CHINA 3,319.15 -38.52 -1.15% 3,349.72 3,305.25 HANG SENG – HONG KONG 19,776.90 -90.64 -0.46% 19,880.00 19,696.60 NIFTY 50 – INDIA 18,249.10 -16.90 -0.09% 18,323.20 18,211.90 KOSPI – KOREA 2,496.51 -13.55 -0.54% 2,510.13 2,488.42 1.6.2023 7 MARKETS International Markets Global Indices Trading Date: 7 June 2023 Pound, US Dollar exchange rate lower THE Pound to US Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rate slipped on Wednesday after a negative risk tone pulled the Sterling lower alongside a slowdown in the UK retail and housing sectors. On the other hand, more drastic losses were limited as USD was weighed by market bets on a pause in policy tightening from the Federal Reserve. Signs of waning confidence in the US economy also prevented a deeper downturn in the ex- change rate. At time of writing the GBP/USD exchange rate was at around $1.2410, which was down roughly 0.2% from that morning's opening figures. Pound (GBP) exchange rates drift lower amid signs of retail and housing slowdown e Pound (GBP) edged lower on Wednesday. Signs of a slowdown in the UK's retail and housing sectors weighed on Sterling. Data collected by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) out- lined a greater-than-forecast drop in retail sales growth in May. e BRC's retail sales monitor fell to 3.7% which was its lowest reading since October 2022. Speaking on the reasons behind the figures, KPMG's UK head of retail Paul Martin said: "e wild card for the retail sector remains uncontrollable food inflation, which shows little sign of coming down in the near future, and this is hav- ing a significant knock-on effect on non-essential spending." Evidence of a drop in UK house building also dented con- fidence in the Pound on Tuesday. Whilst May's construction PMI printed in positive territory of 51.6, the survey showed that house building fell at its fastest pace since May 2020. US Dollar (USD) exchange rates lifted by retreat in risk appetite e US Dollar (USD) regained lost ground on Tuesday. e safe-haven 'Greenback' benefitted from a pullback in global risk appetite, although these gains were curbed by a risk-on impulse later in the day. Expectations of a pause in policy tightening from the Fed also undermined the US Dollar on Tuesday. Softer data for the US services sector on Monday added to speculation that the US central bank could keep rates unchanged. Speaking on the Fed's likely forward path, ING's Chief In- ternational Economist James Knightley said: "Companies are reporting a jobs surge in May, yet households are telling us employment plunged. Who to believe? Well, with wage growth continuing to soften and hours worked edging lower the market is thinking the June FOMC meeting "skip" narra- tive still holds. We agree but are nervous that a hot core CPI print on 13 June could yet tip the balance." Finally, a poor reading of the US economic optimism index hobbled the US Dollar's gains. e index edged slightly high- er to 41.7 in June which was still well below the benchmark reading of 50. e index outlined falling support for US eco- nomic policies following the US debt ceiling deal. Signs of a slowdown in the UK's retail and housing sectors weighed on the Sterling