Archive for category: News

• US indices finished yesterday’s session higher following a jump triggered by lower-than-expected US PPI reading for October. However, part of the gains was later erased on reports saying that Russian missiles landed in Poland
• US and other NATO officials say that it does not look like it was a deliberate strike on Poland, a NATO member country. It also remains uncertain whether it really was a Russian missile that overshoot Ukraine or Ukrainian anti-air missile that missed its target
• NATO will, however, hold an emergency meeting today and it is expected that Poland will trigger Article 4, that means launching joint consultations on security matters
• S&P 500 finished yesterday’s trading 0.87% higher, Dow Jones gained 0.17% and Nasdaq added 1.45%. Russell 2000 traded 1.50% higher
• Asian session today was downbeat with major benchmarks from the region trading lower. S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.3%, Kospi moved 0.1% lower, Nifty 50 traded flat and indices from China traded up to 1% lower. Nikkei was outperformer with a 0.1% gain
• DAX futures point a lower opening of the European cash session

• Former US President Donald Trump has officially entered 2024 US presidential race
• Prices of residential buildings in China dropped 1.6% YoY in October
• Australian wages increased 1% QoQ in Q3 2022 (exp. +0.9% QoQ)
• Japanese machinery orders dropped 4.6% MoM in September (exp. +0.6% MoM)
• API report pointed to a 5.83 million barrel draw in US oil inventories (exp. +1.4 mb)
• Oil and natural gas trade lower following yesterday’s gains made on geopolitical headlines
• Precious metals underperform – palladium drops 0.6%, platinum trade 0.1% lower, gold declines 0.3% and silver trades flat
• EUR and GBP are the best performing major currencies while JPY and USD lag the most

Brent (OIl) jumped on increase in geopolitical tensions and briefly traded above 200-hour moving average yesterday (purple line on the chart above). However, gains started to be erased as NATO played down the incident and said it was unlikely to be a deliberate Russian attack on Poland.

• US indexes ended yesterday’s session in euphoric moods. The S&P 500 rose 5.5%, the Dow Jones rose 3.7%, and the NASDAQ closed the session at nearly 7.5% plus. The Russell 2000 gained 6.11%. Today, contracts indicate that investors will be looking to extend the upward move;
• The atmosphere is also giving to investors in Asia. NIKKEI contracts are gaining 1.5%. Index contracts from China’s CHNComp and HKComp are trading nearly 3% higher;
• DAX index futures point to a marginally higher European session opening. DE30 gains 0.12%;
• Inflation in Germany came in line with expectations at 11.6% vs. 11.6% previously. The reading did not turn out to be as euphoric as the one in the US;
• The ECB’s Nagel indicated yesterday that he expects German inflation to exceed 7% in 2023;
• According to estimates by Patrick T.Harker of the Philadelphia Fed, PCE inflation in the U.S. will be at 3.5% in 2023 and 2.5% in 2024. Flat GDP this year and 1.5% growth next year is the baseline scenario, according to him. Harker emphasized the still-strong labor market, however, indicating that US unemployment could reach 4.5% next year;
• Dallas Fed President Fed Logan said it may soon be appropriate to slow down to better assess economic conditions. He added that it may soon be appropriate to slow the pace of rate hikes, and that the process of cooling the economy is just beginning;
• Kansas Fed President Ether George said that higher rates will be necessary for some time to convince households to retain savings, with gradual increases being beneficial;
• San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly also referred to the lower U.S. inflation reading and indicated that moderation is “good news,” but “pausing is not the discussion, the discussion is giving way”;
• The Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission have opened an investigation into cryptocurrency exchange FTX. At the same time, the US branch of the FTX US exchange remains untouched due to the fact that it had to comply with the restrictive regulations of Gary Gensler’s institution;
• Regulators’ intervention in the digital asset sector is increasingly likely. White House spokeswoman Jean-Pierre indicated yesterday that prudent regulation of the cryptocurrency industry is required;
• Cryptocurrencies are recovering from recent declines although they are retreating from yesterday’s highs. Bitcoin is holding at $17,400 and is trading 2% lower. Ethereum is losing 3%. DYDX and Kiloshib are the best performers, with both cryptocurrencies gaining nearly 40% today;
• Oil is trading higher today, near $96. Precious metals are continually climbing;
• The dollar continues to weaken against other currencies. The EURUSD pair is already trading at 1,024.

Contracts on the US100 continue today’s rebound near 11,750 points. On the chart, we can see a double-hole formation at 10,700 points, where demand has already stopped declines twice. Yesterday the index rose nearly 7% and scored one of the best sessions in its 21st century history. Today the bulls are trying to continue the upward movement. The nearest support seems to lie in the psychological zone of 12,000 points.

• US indices finished yesterday’s trading higher. It was the third consecutive day of gains on Wall Street. S&P 500 gained 0.56%, Dow Jones added 1.02% and Nasdaq moved 0.49% higher
• US midterms elections are behind us but we will have to wait for full results. Early results and estimates suggest that Democrats will retain control over the Senate. Republicans are seen as getting majority in the House of Representatives
• No major moves can be seen on the markets in response to those early projected results as split power in Congress is an outcome that was expected prior to elections
• Indices from Asia-Pacific traded mixed today. Nikkei, Nifty 50 and indices from China dropped while S&P/ASX 200 and Kospi gained
• DAX futures point to a slightly lower opening of the European cash session today

• Telegraph reports that UK Prime Minister Sunak may raise an income tax rate for the top earners
• FedEx, a major US shipping company, said that it expects lower demand as demand trends reversed faster than expected. Company said that it had to defer a number of projects and cut vendor headcount
• Chinese CPI inflation decelerated from 2.8 to 2.1% YoY in October (exp. 2.4% YoY). PPI inflation came in negative at -1.3% YoY (exp. -1.6% YoY)
• API report on US oil inventories pointed to a 5.62 million barrel build (exp. +1.1 mb)
• Overall, cryptocurrencies calmed after yesterday’s rout but major coins continue to trade lower. Bitcoin drops 0.2%, Ethereum trades 1.1% lower and Ripply drops 2.5%
• Oil is trading a touch higher while precious metals decline slightly
• USD and JPY are the best performing major currencies while NZD and AUD lag the most

Bitcoin briefly dropped below the $18,000 mark and retested lows from late-June. The coin bounced off the daily lows and recovered. However, it is trading more or less flat on the day.

• Indices from Asia-Pacific traded higher during the first session of a new week. Nikkei gained 1.2%, S&P/ASX 200 moved 0.6% higher and Kospi added 1%. Indices from China traded higher with Hang Seng rallying 3%
• European and US index futures trade flat compared to Friday’s cash close

• Spokesman for the Chinese health commission said China is not abandoning its Covid-zero policy and will continue to take actions as soon as new outbreaks emerge
• According to The Guardian report, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Hunt plans to propose 60 billion GBP in tax hikes and spending cuts, with around 25 billion GBP coming from spending cuts and 35 billion GBP from tax hikes
• ECB Villeroy said that it may take 2-3 years for inflation in the euro area to return to ECB target. He also said that ECB is not far from neutral rate and warned that tightening may slow in December
• Apple lowered its iPhone production forecast by 3 million units. Company named Chinese lockdowns as a reason at first but later blamed it on the back of slowing demand
• According to Wall Street Journal, Meta Platforms plans to launch large-scale lay-offs this week, that may affect thousands of employees
• Chinese exports dropped 0.3% YoY in October (exp. +4.3% YoY) while imports were 0.7% YoY lower (exp. +0.1% YoY)
• Cryptocurrencies are trading mostly lower. Bitcoin drops 1.2%, Ethereum trades 1.4% lower and Dogecoin declines 1.6%
• Oil is trading lower with China commiting to zero-Covid policy being a reason. Brent drops 1% while WTI trades 1.1% lower
• In spite of USD weakening, precious metals are trading lower at the beginning of a new week. Gold drops 0.6% while silver and platinum trade over 1% lower
• EUR and NZD are the best performing major currencies while JPY, USD and CAD lag the most

WTI (OIL.WTI) retested the $93 area at the end of the previous week but failed to break higher. Crude launched a new week with a bearish price gap after Chinese officials said the country remains committed to its zero-Covid policy and will continue to take actions against virus outbreaks.

• Three major US indices finished yesterday’s session lower, while investors look ahead to today’s Fed meeting. S&P 500 fell 0.41%, Dow Jones dropped 0.24% and Nasdaq lost 0.89%.
• Mixed moods prevailed during the Asian session. Nikkei fell 0.05%, S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.14% lower while Kospi jumped 0.17%. Chinese indices traded over 1.0% higher.
• DAX futures point to a higher opening of the European cash session today
• BOJ’s Kuroda does not see the need to change current easing policy, while weakening yen is neagtive for the Japan economy
• Japan finance minister Suzuki: We will not say when we will intervene but ready to do so
• BOJ minutes, showed that policymakers are concerned weak yen could hurt households, small firms, services
• NIO suspended production at two factories due to COVID restrictions
• PBoC Governor Yi said that inflation in China remains subdued and expects reasonable range of economic growth
• BOC Macklem says expects to hike rates even further, it will be difficult to  move inflation to 2.0% level,
• North Korea fired an estimated 10 ballistic missiles, one of which landed less than 60 kilometers off South Korea’s coast.
• Australian manufacturing PMI fell  to 49.6 in October from 50.2 in the previous month
• New Zealand Q3 unemployment rate 3.3% (vs. 3.2% expected)
• South Korean core CPI inflation in October jumped to 4.2% from previous 4.1%
• API report showed a large inventory draw of -6.54 mn barrels, while markets expected small build
• Energy commodities trade higher,  with WTI rising around 1.4% and trading near $90 per barrel
• Precious metals trade mostly higher. Gold rose 0.25%, silver trades 0.4% higher and platinum jumped 0.50%. Palladium gains 1.0%
• Cryptocurrencies are trading slightly higher. Bitcoin tested $20,500 level and Ethereum hovers around $1580
• JPY and NZD are the best performing major currencies while USD and EUR lag the most

USDJPY pair pulled back below 148.00 level following fresh comments from Japanese officials. Still, may yen remains under pressure due to a widening policy divergence, as the BoJ maintained its policy of ultra-low interest rates while the FED is expected to raise rates further to fight persistent inflationary pressures.