School Articles

1. Market movers

The USD fell to 16-month lows against the other major currencies on Tuesday, as donwbeat Chinese manufacturing data dampened sentiment and as policy decisions by the Bank of Japan and the Federal Reserve still weighed heavily on the greenback.

Gold prices are continuing to rise Tuesday after the precious metal hit a new milestone on Monday, climbing above $1,300 an ounce for the first time since January 2015. Gold is up nearly 23% this year, crushing stocks, bonds and most other major asset classes.

Shares in European banks UBS (UBS) and Commerzbank (CRZBY) are taking a big hit after the firms reported worse-than-expected quarterly results. Shares in UBS are down by about 8% while Commerzbank shares are down by about 6%.

2. Earnings and overview

A range of big companies are reporting results this morning, including Sprint (S), Pfizer (PFE), New York Times (NYT), CVS Health (CVS), HSBC (HSBC), Estee Lauder (EL), Hyatt Hotels (H) and Molson Coors Brewing (TAP).

Then after the trading day comes to a close, Avis Budget (CAR), CBS (CBS), Etsy (ETSY) and Papa John's (PZZA) will report earnings.

U.S. stock futures are firmly in the red. European markets are all declining in early trading.

However, Australian and Chinese stock markets ended the day with gains. Investors pushed markets higher after the Reserve Bank of Australia announced it was lowering its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to a record low of 1.75%.

3. Auto maker’s day

Major automakers including General Motors (GM) and Ford (F) are set to report U.S. auto sales data on Tuesday.

Auto analysts at the Kelley Blue Book say sales last month may have hit record levels.

"April 2016 sales could report the highest April volume ever, surpassing the previous record of 1.5 million units in April 2005," the analysts wrote in a report.

4. Monday market recap

It was a positive day on Monday in the stock markets. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.7%, the S&P 500 jumped 0.8% and the Nasdaq rose 0.9%.