European indices posted upward sessions today. The DAX ended the day with more than 1% gains, France's CAC40 gained 0.5%, Italy's IT40 rose nearly 0.6%, and the Stoxx Europe 600 recorded a 0.6% gain.
Wall Street indices are also trading up, led by the Nasdaq 100 with nearly 1% upside. The S&P 500 is up 0.8% today, and the Dow Jones is up 0.5%.
Unity Software is gliding 11% today after the company's decision to drop its controversial Runtime Fee. Kroger is also up after releasing better-than-expected results on the margins.
Data released today on new jobless claims in the U.S. came in higher than forecast, recording a 1% increase from earlier in the week.
PPI inflation in the U.S. on a monthly basis came in slightly above expectations. At the annual level, PPI remained stable. A huge contribution to the decline in core PPI inflation came from energy prices, most notably oil.
Antipodean currencies are currently posting the largest appreciation in the FX market. However, the Japanese yen and the Canadian dollar are under downward pressure.
The European Central Bank cut its key deposit rate by 25 basis points, as expected. The overall tone of the ECB's comments remained mixed, and bankers, in the face of continued poor economic data from Europe, are not ruling out another cut as early as October, although this scenario seems less likely.
Gold prices climbed to new historic highs today, extending a multi-month uptrend. The bullion is currently gaining 1.6%, while silver is adding 3.7%.
Natural gas and oil are also doing very well in the commodities market. Uncertainty over Hurricane Francine has propelled NATGAS prices 4.3% higher, while WTI crude oil is up 2.5%.
Ajit Jain, an insurance executive at Berkshire Hathaway, sold more than half of his stake in the company, according to a new SEC regulatory filing.
In the crypto market, investors' attention was captured today by Ripple, which gained as much as 10% after the announcement that Grayscale had created its first XRP trust fund.