Oil falls amid an unexpected rise in reserves. China is creating a blockade on Taiwan under the guise of military exercises

Fed officials reiterated Wednesday their determination to curb high inflation. One official noted that a half-percent hike in the Central Bank’s key interest rate next month may be enough to achieve that goal.

In July, the US services sector unexpectedly rebounded due to a strong increase in orders, while supply bottlenecks and price pressures eased. This confirmed the view of the Fed representatives that the economy is not in recession, despite the reduction in production in the first half of the year.

PayPal (PYPL) was one of the day’s leaders, rising more than 9% after reporting better-than-expected results and announcing a $15 billion share buyback program. The fintech giant also said Elliott Investment Management had invested $2 billion in the company as the activist shareholder hopes to encourage PayPal to explore plans to return capital to shareholders. Moderna (MRNA) shares rose nearly 16% after a report showed better-than-expected second-quarter results thanks to higher sales of the Covid-19 vaccine. Online travel agency Booking Holdings Inc (BKNG) reported an increase in quarterly revenue Wednesday as a surge in bookings amid strong demand for summer travel led to a faster-than-expected recovery.

Alibaba (BABA), Toyota Motor (TM), Amgen (AMGN), ConocoPhillips (COP), Vertex (VRTX), and others report today.

According to Eurostat, Eurozone producer inflation rose another 1.1% in June 2022. Eurozone retail sales showed a decline of 1.2%, with a forecast of rising of 0.4%. This is negative data for the euro. On the other hand, the PMI of business activity in the service sector in Europe has noticeably increased. Still, analysts attribute the growth of the index to the increase in demand for services during the summer season.

Crude oil inventories unexpectedly rose by 4.5 million barrels last week, compared to analysts’ forecast of 600,000 barrels. The OPEC+ group said it would raise its oil production target by just 100,000 BPD. Oil prices decreased by 3% amid the data yesterday.

Asian markets traded flat yesterday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 (JP225) gained 0.53%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HK50) added 0.40%, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 (AU200) was down by 0.32%.

China launched an unprecedented live-fire military exercise in six areas around Taiwan on Thursday, a day after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island. Taiwanese officials said the exercises violate United Nations rules, invade Taiwan’s territorial space, and pose a direct challenge to free air and sea navigation. China is conducting the drills in the busiest international waterways and air routes. A Taiwanese cabinet spokesman, expressing strong condemnation of the exercises, also said the websites of the defense ministry, foreign ministry, and presidential office had been attacked by hackers.