US stocks closed higher on Monday as market sentiment was bolstered by an agreement for a third bailout program between Greece and its creditors. S&P 500 closed 1.1% higher with all 10 main sectors finishing with gains. The dollar strengthened, with US Dollar Index rising 0.8% to 96.7520. European stocks rose sharply as Stoxx 600 gained 2%, DAX 30 added 1.5% and French CAC 40 inched 1.9%. Chinese stocks advanced on Tuesday. According to official data, GDP in the second quarter increased 7% (yoy) slightly above the tentative forecast of 6.9%. Industrial production statistics and sales appeared to be better-than-expected as well.
Oil prices fell as investors estimated that it would take time for Iran to ramp up oil output considerably to increase exports after sanctions lift off. Nikkei advanced on Thursday, following global indices. It hit the maximum since the last October, recording a 5% increase. The Chinese market recovery was one of the driving factors. According to Japan Exchange Group, the week before the amount of Japanese stocks net buying was 527bln shares, the highest since January, 2014. Oil prices dropped as the first supertanker Starla, carrying 2mln barrels, sailed to Asia from Iran. The country government planned to boost production by 500 thousand barrels daily in 2 months.
European stocks advanced further on Friday. Greek banks resumed operations. China reported the decrease in gold reserves to 1.65% from 1.8%, recorded in June, 2009. Drop in gold prices did not affect copper and silver much. Commodity Futures Trading Commission said that hedge funds reduced copper and silver short positions. This week we recommend to pay attention to two macroeconomic indicators: Retail Sales in Great Britain (released on Thursday) and Trade Balance In New Zealand (published on Friday). The second index is of prime importance since it may affect volatility of the New Zealand dollar. Because of a strong correlation between the British pound and the common currency European news tend to “neutralize” fundamental releases from Great Britain.
Source: IFC Markets
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