Daily review

The price of crude oil jumped today after the United States announced that it will not extend the waivers on Iranian oil imports.

There was little activity in the markets today, with most countries marking the Easter holiday celebrations. In Europe and United States, the markets were predominantly closed.

The euro declined sharply after weak economic data from the European Union. In Germany, the manufacturing PMI for the month of April was 44.5, which was lower than the expected 45.0.

US futures pointed to a higher open after another session of earnings. Yesterday, Netflix reported a quarterly profit of $0.79 per share, which was higher than the expected $0.57.

US stocks rose sharply in pre-market trading as investors cheered corporate earnings. Johnson & Johnson beat analysts forecasts boosted by the strong sales of psoriasis, Crohn’s disease and cancer treatments.

Global stocks were relatively unmoved today as investors waited for important economic and earnings data.

The price of crude oil rose today after Chevron announced that it will acquire rival Anadarko for $33 billion. This is the biggest purchase in the oil and gas sector since oil prices started to decline in 2014.

The sterling rose today after the European Union accepted Theresa May’s proposal for an extension of Article 50.

The euro was little moved after tepid economic data from the region. In Sweden, the data showed that motor vehicle factory orders dropped sharply in February.

The euro moved up slightly after better-than-expected economic numbers from Europe. In Germany, in February, the industrial production data rose by 0.7%, which was higher than the expected 0.6%.