Significant events to watch:

-US Initial Job Claims

-UK Interest Rate Decision

-US Nonfarm Payrolls

USA (USD): US Initial Job Claims – Initial Jobless Claims measures the number of individuals who filed for unemployment insurance for the first time during the past week. This is the earliest U.S. economic data, but the market impact varies from week to week.

A higher than expected reading should be taken as negative/bearish for the USD, while a lower than expected reading should be taken as positive/bullish for the USD.

The previous figure came out to be 221K, better than expected. For this report, the forecast stands at 227K.

The report is due on August 3, 12:30 GMT

United Kingdom (GBP): UK Interest Rate Decision – Bank of England (BOE) monetary policy committee members vote on where to set the rate. Traders watch interest rate changes closely as short term interest rates are the primary factor in currency valuation.

A higher than expected rate is positive/bullish for the GBP, while a lower than expected rate is negative/bearish for the GBP.

The interest rate was increased to 5.00% previously in June against the forecast of 4.75%. For this report, the expectations hover around 5.25%.

The report is due on August 3, 11:00 GMT

USA (USD): US Nonfarm Payrolls – Nonfarm Payrolls measures the change in the number of people employed during the previous month, excluding the farming industry. Job creation is the foremost indicator of consumer spending, which accounts for the majority of economic activity.

A higher than expected reading should be taken as positive/bullish for the USD, while a lower than expected reading should be taken as negative/bearish for the USD.

Last month’s reading was worse than expected, standing at 209K. This time, the forecast stands at 200K.

The upcoming report is due on August 4 12:30 GMT

Risers and Fallers

-Dow Jones  (+0.65%)

-Microsoft Corp. (-2.72%)

-Alphabet Inc. (+9.69%)

-Crude oil (+2.89%)

Dow Jones – The Dow Jones has risen 0.65% in the past 5 days. In the long run, the index is on a bullish run, demonstrating nearly 35% increase in the previous 5 years. The Dow is currently trading at $35,459.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) – Microsoft has declined 2.72% in previous week, but has registered remarkable gains (40%) YTD. The MSFT is currently trading at $337 per share.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL)  – Alphabet’s stock has surged 9.69% in the past five days while it has shown nearly 50% increase since the beginning of year. Alphabet is trading at $133.20 per share.

Crude Oil (Brent) – Crude oil increased 2.89% in the past few days. Oil prices has been consistently increasing for four weeks in a row. Currently, Crude oil is trading at $84.12.

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