Weekly news summary for July 29 to August 4
Friday, July 29: Alibaba Shares Drop on Potential US Delisting
The stock of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. declined on Friday after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) added the Chinese tech giant to its watchlist of potential companies to be delisted from Wall St. if the country’s auditors are unable to review its financial statements.
Alibaba’s US-listed shares, which are already under pressure, ended Friday’s session with an 11% loss to close at $89.37 following the news, ending the month lower by 21.4%.
Monday, Aug. 1: Germany’s June Retail Sales Post Biggest Decline
Germany’s June retail sales posted their biggest annual drop since it began gathering data in 1994, as surging inflation due to the Ukraine war prompted consumers to spend less on non-essentials.
The German Federal Statistics Office reported on Monday that retail sales in Eurozone’s largest economy fell to its sharpest rate in almost three decades of 8.8% in June, while official data released last week showed Germany stagnated in the second quarter.
Tuesday, Aug. 2: Oil Prices Slide Below $100 Ahead of OPEC+ Meeting
Oil prices slipped on Tuesday, closing in on their lowest level in about four months, as traders focused on this week’s upcoming output limit decision by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies.
Global benchmark Brent crude futures lost 0.1% to trade below $100 first time in more than a week at $99.91 per barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures shed 0.2% to $93.69 per barrel, having hit its lowest since April earlier in the session.
Wednesday, Aug. 3: Solana Down After 7,900 Wallets Were Hacked
Solana was down 10% on Wednesday before bouncing back to regain half of its losses after a hacking incident left its blockchain with an $8-million loss.
So far, more than $5.2 million worth of cryptocurrency assets have been stolen from over 7,900 Solana wallets, with the primary cause of the attack currently unclear, although major cryptos Bitcoin and Ethereum were unaffected by the news, gaining about 2.5%.
Thursday, Aug. 4: Australian Dollar Gains on Record Trade Surplus
The Australian dollar edged higher on Thursday, finding support from a record-high trade surplus in June, as imports stabilized and imports from the previous month slightly increased.
The Australian dollar was up by 0.3% to $0.69, nearing to cross the critical psychological level of $0.70, after the country’s trade surplus rose to a record of A$17.67 billion in June, surpassing expectations of A$14 billion due to a 5.1% surge in overall exports.
