MARKET ANALYSIS 28/07/2016

Oil continues its slump, going down 2.3%

Is oil going to hit the $40 mark? Some experts say it will, as crude oil futures settled on $41.92 when trade closed yesterday - a three-month low. One reason for oil’s steady decline could be the abundance of oil reserves and lower demand than expected. While the trend could always be reversed when it comes to the world’s most traded commodity, some analysts believe that it will continue to go down before it goes up, and might hit as low as $36 a barrel in the second half of 2016. As always, whoever predicts the change in price accurately is set to make a profit.

Dollar drops as the Fed leaves rates unchanged

The much anticipated announcement from the U.S. Federal Reserve came as no surprise to many, as interest rates were left unchanged. However, the Fed stated that near-term risks to the market have been diminished, meaning there’s a still a chance it will raise interest rates in September. Following the announcement, the U.S. Dollar initially rose, but then started falling, losing 0.2% on the WSJ Dollar Index, which measures it against 16 other major currencies, including a 0.5% drop against the yen. As the trading day opens in Europe, it will be interesting to see if there will be any major fluctuations in the EUR/USD exchange rate.

Facebook earns big, beats all predictions

Traders who bought Facebook stock should give Mark Zuckerberg a giant “Like!” After the market closed yesterday, the world’s biggest social network shared its earnings report, and it was huge. The company reported earnings of $6.44 billion - up 59% from last year, and its stock climbed 6.45% in after-hours trading. Not only did the company show great profit, it also explained that the bulk of it was made through mobile advertising - a monetization tool that is still on the rize, meaning that there is a good chance we haven’t heard the last of its stock climbing. Another mobile advertising giant,Google, is expected to announce its earnings today, alongside other major companies.