Oil Continues to Edge Higher
Wal-Mart Equities Rally on Job Cuts
EU Markets Open Mixed
1. Oil Rallies on Potential Saudi Arabian Output Cut Extension…
Oil prices continued on their long rally on Wednesday, according to CNBC. Oil prices were supported by Saudi Arabia’s commitment to extend an OPEC-led production cut beyond the first half of 2017. Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil, were last seen trading at $56.34 per barrel, while Crude futures also edged 0.2 percent higher at $53.52 as of 6:30 GMT, according to Reuters. It should also be noted that oil prices will be affected by official U.S. oil production and inventory data, due to be published at 14:30. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) will report last week’s change in the number of barrels of commercial crude oil held by US firms. Consensus is that the reading will be significantly lower. If the decline in inventories is greater than expected, Brent and Crude prices could edge even higher, according to Investing.
2. Wal-Mart Equities Rally after the Company Slashes More Corporate Jobs
Wal-Mart announced more layoffs in an effort to regain its low-cost pricing advantage in the U.S. retail sector, according to Stock News. Wal-Mart confirmed yesterday that there will be yet another round of job cuts, which will involve hundreds of positions in its international and technology businesses. Wal-Mart’s job cuts started back in 2016 when the retailer slashed 7000 positions in an effort to reduce costs. The news pushed WMT stocks higher to close at $73.43 while the uptrend is expected to continue after U.S. Markets open today, according to Investing!
3. European Markets Continue to Wobble while Gold Rallies Amid Geopolitical Concerns
European indices started the day flat to lower as the markets digest a drumbeat of geopolitical news which boosted the buying of safe-haven assets such as gold, according to CNBC. Gold futures have been rallying since Monday and have posted more gains on Wednesday as investors seek to invest in safer assets. As geopolitical concerns continue to reign the markets, gold prices are expected to continue to edge higher today according to Investing.
The Week Ahead…
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