Your Weekly Trading Review by UFX.com – Sunday, April 29, 2018
Here are some of this past week’s leading economic news and events that affected the financial markets:
Amazon’s Q1 Dazzled Analysts
Amazon.com Inc, the world’s largest online retailer more than doubled its profit on Thursday and predicted strong spring results. Sales soared 43 percent to $51.0 billion in the quarter, beating analysts’ estimates of $49.8 billion. The Q1 helped drive shares up 7 percent to an all-time high in after-hours trade and added $8 billion to the net worth of Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s chief executive and largest shareholder.
Trump Threatens Government Shutdown
On Saturday, President Donald Trump threatened to halt the U.S. government in September if Congress did not increase funding to build a security wall on its border with Mexico. According to Trump, “if by September 28th there is no progress we will have no choice, we will close down the country because we need border security.” Trump made a similar threat in March to push for changes in immigration law that he said would prevent criminals from entering the country. The government briefly shut down in January over immigration.
Weekly Market Brief
The EUR/USD added +0.22% to its value, closing at $1.2288. The GBP/USD decreased by -0.98%, closing the week at a £1.3782 exchange rate. Gold rose by +0.42% as of last week’s market close, closing at $1,323.40. Crude Oil fell by -0.13%, closing at $68.10 a barrel. The Dow Jones ended the week with a decrease of -0.05%, closing at a value of 24,311.19. The S&P 500 rose by +0.11%, closing at a value of 2,669.91. And lastly, the NASDAQ increased by +0.02%, ending the week at a value point of 7,119.80.
That’s our summary of the financial headlines from the past week. Good luck with this week’s trading and stay tuned for the next review from UFX.com.