Today's news headlines: 

‘Airbnb benefits from “travel recovery” as bookings and revenue grow’. Countries with higher Coronavirus vaccination rates have been able to relax restrictions domestically while also opening travel corridors. This has given a boost to Airbnb with second-quarter revenues reaching around $1.34bn, beating expectations of $1.26bn. With more countries around the world administering more jabs day-to-day, the expectation for travel to continue unlocking is only growing stronger. (Financial Times)

‘Wall Street bets that equity bull run will continue’. Bumper corporate profits have lifted optimism that the current bull market isn’t running out of steam just yet. The latest Q2 2021 profits figures show expansion at the fastest pace seen since 2008, pushing the S&P 500 to record highs, with the index currently up 20% year-to-date. Goldman Sachs has forecast that the index will reach 4,700 by the end of the year and push on further to hit 4,900 in 2022. Elsewhere, Credit Suisse has announced a 2022 year-end target of 5,000 for the blue-chip index. (Financial Times)

Today

The FTSE 100 closed 0.37% lower yesterday, with markets reacting indifferently to the latest UK GDP data. Oil prices also fell yesterday as the International Energy Agency announced global oil demand is likely to be slowed due to the Coronavirus Delta variant. Cable has found some support around the $1.38 level this morning after falling 0.29% yesterday. EUR/USD is little changed, trading around $1.1730.

Events

German Wholesale Price Index m/m: 1.1% vs 1.5% last month
Switzerland Producer Price Index m/m: 0.5% vs 0.3% last month
US Preliminary UoM Consumer Sentiment: 3:00PM
US Preliminary Inflation Expectations: 3:00PM

Interbank rates:

GBP/USD – 1.3804
GBP/EUR – 1.1760
EUR/USD – 1.1736
USD/CAD – 1.2523

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