The U.S. dollar appreciated against its major counterparts in the New York session on Thursday, as weekly jobless claims remained flat last week, indicating continued strength in the labor market.

A report released by the National Association of Realtors on Thursday showed a sharp pullback by existing home sales in the U.S. in the month March. NAR said existing home sales plunged by 4.3 percent to an annual rate of 4.19 million in March after surging by 9.5 percent to a rate of 4.38 million in February. Economists had expected existing home sales to slump to a rate of 4.20 million.

The Conference Board released a report on Thursday showing an unexpected pullback by its index of leading U.S. economic indicators in the month of March. The report said the leading economic index fell by 0.3 percent in March after rising by 0.2 percent in February. The modest advance in February marked the first increase by the leading index in two years.

A report released by the National Association of Realtors on Thursday showed a sharp pullback by existing home sales in the U.S. in the month March.

Electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc. revealed that it will lay off 285 workers from its Buffalo, New York workforce. The planned job cuts represent 14 percent of the total workforce of 2,032 workers in the region. The job cuts are part of the massive layoffs the company recently announced. In a related development, reports said citing an internal email sent to employees, that Tesla Chief Executive...

Investors are keeping a close eye on gold as the conflict in the Middle East escalates with a possibility of a full-scale regional war in the area.

Euro Dollar up 0.4%, Dollar Yen down 0.2%, Gold Dollar drops 0.8%. Nike gains 0.2%. Dollar strong, impacting Yen. US stocks volatile on Fed concerns, Europe steady. Key events: US jobless claims, Australia employment, Eurozone meeting, Japan industry index, Australia unemployment rate.

The British pound sterling is showing signs of recovery, bouncing back from a five-month low, with GBP/USD stabilising around the 1.2470 mark on Thursday.

Euro edges higher despite continued hawkish commentary from Fed officials; Geopolitical developments cast doubt on ECB June rate cut; Yen fails to make considerable gains as market looks to Friday’s CPI data

Oil prices experienced a significant drop in the last session that was influenced by an accelerating build-up in U.S. crude inventories and concerns about oil demand.