European equities and US futures fall to session lows
European indices are extending declines with the DAX now down by over 0.8%. Meanwhile, US futures are down by ~0.3% as well and are off levels earlier in the session.

Latest data released by Challenger, Gray, and Christmas Inc
– 170k
US-based employers announced another 262,649 job cuts in July and this does provide some indication that perhaps the labour market recovery is losing some steam as demand conditions continue to suffer across the country.

Comments by German health minister, Jens Spahn
– But does not think have to comprehensively close shops again
– May have to re-look at what kind of events/celebrations can take place
Germany reported 1,045 new virus cases today – the first time that the daily count exceeded 1,000 since early May – and that is raising some fear

Trump speaks in an interview with Fox News
– Says he may act to suspend payroll tax himself is Congress doesn’t act
Well, he’s on not tweeting about the jobs report after the  but media interviews aren’t really any better to be honest. I reckon you can pretty much ignore everything else, this is going to

Forex news from the European trading session – 5 August 2020
Headlines:
Markets:
– AUD leads, USD and JPY lag
– European equities higher; E-minis up 0.6%
– US 10-year yields up 2 bps to 0.528%

Spot gold up by over 1% to $2,044
The parabolic rise in gold over the last two weeks is continuing as we see price keep firmly above $2,000 in a move to fresh highs of $2,044 in European morning trade.

Latest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association for the week ending 31 July 2020
–  -0.8%
– Market index 798.8 vs 841.9 prior
– Purchase index 300.7 vs 306.1 prior
Despite a drop in the long-term mortgage rate, refinancing and purchase activity both showed signs of decline in the past week and that may be a sign that the

Lockdowns and virus restrictions are continuing to make a comeback
In the case of Aberdeen, this comes after a local outbreak related to a pub cluster – more than 30 cases have been linked to that. This is prompting action by the government to try and limit the spread of the virus infection:

Forex news from the European trading session – 4 August 2020
Headlines:
Markets:
– CHF leads, GBP lags on the day
– European equities lower; E-minis down 0.4%

Latest data released by Eurostat – 4 August 2020
EUR/USD keeps a little firmer still just under the 1.1800 handle as continues on the session.