US Markets U.S. stock futures were flat over the weekend after ending the first week of the second quarter on a high. - New Jobs data released last Friday showed that nonfarm payrolls rose by 372,000, significantly better than the 250,000 jobs increase expected.
- The Nasdaq was up last Friday, meaning it is currently riding a five-day winning streak.
- The current 10 Year U.S. Treasury yield is set at 3.08400%
| Dow Jones | 31,338.15 | -0.15% | | S&P 500 | 3,899.38 | -0.08% | | Nasdaq | 11,635.31 | 0.12% | | Russell 2000 | 1,769.36 | -0.01% | *Stock Market data as of the last closing bell. Data received directly from the references indexes through ICE Data Services. Do you not understand any of these figures? Check out our explainer.
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Canadian Markets On Friday Canada was hit with the largest internet outage in the country's recent history after the entire network of Rogers Communications Inc, the country's largest internet service provider, failed. - The outage prompted politicians and the general public to call for more competition in Canada's telecommunications market, which is currently an oligopoly dominated by Rogers, Telus, and Bell.
- During the outage, debit cards stopped working, and public transit systems, emergency services, and 911 call operators were disrupted.
- The Competition Bureau is currently trying to prevent Rogers from purchasing Shaw Communications in a $26B deal that the watchdog believes could help bolster Rogers' monopoly and prevent the creation of a fourth service provider.
*Canadian stock prices are as of the last close. Data received directly from the references indexes through ICE Data Services
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European Markets European stocks were up on Friday after they reacted positively to the stronger-than-expected jobs data released in the U.S. - The Stoxx 600 finished up 0.5%, with the automotive industry gaining 3.2%, while utility stocks trailed markets, losing 0.6%.
- Futures data indicates that the market will continue its positive momentum into the new week.
- Commerzbank gained 7.8% on Friday to lead the Stoxx 600.
- Fabege fell 9.6%, the worst performance in the Stoxx 600, as the Swedish real estate company reported lower profits for Q2 2022.
- Tag Immobilien was also down, losing 6%, after the German real estate company resolved a capital increase.
- OMV, the Austrian oil and gas company, was up 6.6% after increasing its forecasts.
| Euro STOXX 50 | 3,506.55 | 0.52% | | UK (FTSE 100) | 7,196.24 | 0.10% | | Germany (DAX) | 13,015.23 | 1.34% | | France (CAC 40) | 6,033.13 | 0.44% | *European stock prices are as of 7 am ET. Data received directly from the references indexes through ICE Data Services.
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Asian Markets Japanese stocks suffered greatly in late trading on Friday, following the attack on former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who died after being shot at during a campaign rally. - The Nikkei finished Friday up just 0.1%, having traded up more than 1% earlier in the day.
- Japanese stocks are expected to fall significantly to start the week following the news of Abe's assassination.
- Abe, who stepped down as Prime Minister due to a medical condition in September 2020, was the longest-serving prime minister in the history of Japan.
- He had previously stepped aside as Prime Minister in 2007 due to his condition before returning to the role in 2012.
- After stepping down in 2020, he continued to be a key figure in the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, the ruling party. He was campaigning for other candidates when he was shot.
| S&P Asia 50 | 4,787.41 | 0.75% | | Japan (Nikkei 225) | 26,517.19 | 0.10% | | South Korea (KOSPI) | 2,350.61 | 0.70% | | China (Hang Seng) | 21,725.78 | 0.38% | | India (SENSEX) | 54,481.84 | 0.56% | *Asian stock prices are as of 7 am ET. Data received directly from the references indexes through ICE Data Services.
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Commodities Oil prices were up on Friday but finished last week down as investors fear that demand for fuel will decrease if there is a global recession. - Brent crude gained 2.3% on Friday but finished the week down 4.1%.
- U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude finished the week down 2.4% despite gaining 2% on Friday.
- Oil prices are down significantly from their highs in H1 2022, with Brent currently at $107.02, having peaked at $147.
| Oil (NYSEARCA:OIL) | 33.35 | 5.84% | *Commodity prices are as of 7 am ET. Data from MarketWatch. To understand why investors track the prices of these commodities, click here. * I've had a few questions about Brent crude vs U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude. Brent crude is the international standard; therefore, it reflects the general global trend. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude is representative of specific price movements within the United States.
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Cryptocurrency Bitcoin saw significant gains on Friday, climbing above $22,000 at its peak before selling off over the weekend. - Ethereum Name Service (ENS) registrations are up significantly this week after the domain 000.eth was sold for 300 ether last week.
- There were 30,000 ENS registrations on July 4, and an average of over 20,000 per day until July 7. There was an average of just 4,000 registrations per day in May and June.
- XRP gained over 5% on Friday and has been leading the market recovery as it continues to benefit from additional public exposure due to the numerous legal cases involving the currency.
| Bitcoin | $20,875.00 | -3.28% | | Ethereum | $1,170.39 | -3.81% | | Litecoin | $52.06 | -3.68% | | Bitcoin Cash | $106.43 | -1.86% | *Exchange rates as of 7 am ET. Data from Morningstar Financial Research. To understand why we track these currencies and the differences between them, click here.
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Commodities Gold continues to struggle due to the strength of the U.S. Dollar. - Gold was down 3.29% last week, its worst week in over a month.
- Silver gained 0.4%, platinium gained 2%, and palladium gained 8.9% on Friday as investors looked for stable commodities to hedge against inflation.
- In the short term, gold may rise, especially if the U.S. enters a recession, as it may again be seen as a safer option.
| Gold (NYSEARCA:GLD) | 162.30 | 0.04% | | Silver (NYSEARCA:SLV) | 17.79 | 0.23% | | Corn (NYSEARCA:CORN) | 25.17 | 4.40% | | Lumber (NASDAQ:WOOD) | 75.10 | -0.03% | *Commodity prices are as of 7 am ET. Data from MarketWatch. To understand why investors track the prices of these commodities, click here.
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 |  | Liam Gill is a founder, lawyer and investor.
He previously founded Fumarii Technologies, which became a top 20 ranked cloud computing service (Yahoo Finance! 2019) valued at over $30M. He holds an LLB Laws (UK), MSc Management and Master of Laws and currently practices law at Zargar Lawyers + Business Strategists in Vancouver, Canada.
|   | | Editor | Eduardo Garcia is a writer and editor based in New York. He is the author of "Things You Can Do," an illustrated book about climate action. Bylines in The New York Times, The Guardian, Slate, Scientific American, and others. In one of his previous lives, Eduardo worked as a Reuters correspondent in Latin America for nearly a decade. | |
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