The S&P 500 started the day back in the green on Thursday following the release of the latest jobless claims in the United States.
Figures from the Labor Department showed that claims had risen to 221,000 for the week ended March 30th.
This was up 9,000 from the week prior and the highest level of applications for unemployment benefits had hit since late January.
Markets were expecting that applications would rise by 214,000 applications during the latest week. This case of bad news is good news for interest rate cuts was soon overshadowed by rising oil prices amid tension between Israel and Iran.
At the close of trading WTI was trading above $86 a barrel after having been as high as $87.22. The S&P 500 despite a positive start was down 1.23% to 5,147.21.
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Biden Hails US Economy as “World’s Best”
U.S. President Joe Biden today hailed the strength of the U.S. economy earlier today, in a move aiming to convince voters of his successful tenure as commander in chief.
During a press conference, Biden stated, “America has the best economy in the world.”
This comes following recent comments from Donald Trump saying, “We are a nation whose economy is collapsing into a cesspool of ruin, whose supply chain is broken, whose stores are not stocked, whose deliveries are not coming.”
Voters will decide between Trump and Biden later this year, with many expecting Trump to return to the Whitehouse.
Despite high inflation, U.S. GDP grew 2.5% in 2023, outpacing that of other developed economies.
Ripple Rallies on News of a USD Stablecoin
Cryptocurrency Ripple (XRP) rose by as much as 5% during today’s session before giving back gains in the afternoon, after the company announced it was launching a USD stablecoin.
The stablecoin offers investors a safer alternative to more volatile cryptos especially when transacting within the decentralized ecosystem.
Overall, the stablecoin market is valued at $150 billion and is usually pegged to a FIAT currency.
Currently, USDT is the most valued stablecoin and has the highest daily volume amongst all cryptos.
This is typically the preferred means of payment when buying and selling cryptocurrencies on decentralized exchanges.
As the U.S. trading day wound down XRP remained up over 2.6%.
“You don’t need to be a rocket scientist. Investing is not a game where the guy with the 160 IQ beats the guy with 130 IQ.”
Warren Buffett
