Markets Getting Comfortably Numb on Trade Spats
The forex markets are generally in range today except New Zealand Dollar, which tumbles broadly following business confidence data. The US continued to step up its verbal attack on trade partners, but the financial markets are not too bothered about it. Asian indices are mixed with Nikkei trading nearly...
Forex Markets Staying Corrective Despite Trade Spat Escalations
The stock markets are rather steady today so far even though US continues with its tariff threats on other countries. At the time of writing, European indices are mixed with DAX nearly flat while CAC is up 0.2%. FTSE is indeed registering 0.5% again thanks to the slightly weaker...
Global Stocks Down as White House Sent Confusing Messages on Foreign Investment Curb, Yen Strong
Trade tension and protectionism remain the major theme in the financial markets. Following the selloff in US stocks, Asian indices are generally under pressure today. At the time of writing, Nikkei is trading down -0.52%, Hong Kong HSI is down -0.88%. China's Shanghai composite extends recent steep slide and...
Euro Lifted as German Ifo Marginally Beat Expectation, But Yen Still the Strongest on Trade Threats
Yen remains the strongest one for the day, as risk aversion dominates. Commodity currencies, Australia, New Zealand and Canadian Dollar remain the weakest. But some additional strength is seen in Euro as German Ifo business confidence came is not too badly. At the time of writing, FTSE and DAX...
PBOC Cut RRR, Injecting Most Liquidity to Market So Far This Year
Yesterday, PBOC announced a -50 bps reduction in reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for commercial banks. The move, effective from July 5, aims at easing the tightening in credit condition with the injection of about RMB 700B of liquidity to the market. The decision came in line with our assessment...
Yen Rally Continues as Trade Spat Escalates
Yen trades broadly higher today, followed by Dollar and Swiss Franc as sentiments are weighed down by escalating trade rhetorics. Nikkei closed down by -0.79% at 22339.15, after hitting session low at 22312.79. China's Shanghai composite opened higher, as lifted by PBoC's RRR cut, but turned red soon after....
OPEC/ Non-OPEC Deal Has Limited Impact. Here is Why
Oil bulls are relieved after the OPEC/ non-OPEC decision on production. At the joint statement released on June 23, the oil producers announced that they would “strive to adhere to the overall conformity level, voluntarily adjusted to 100%, from July 1 and for the rest of the year. The...
Bulls Increased Bets While Bears Cowered on USD’s Rally
USD bulls won ahead of the June FOMC meeting, as suggested in the CFTC Commitments of Traders report in the week ended June 19. Speculative long positions for USD Index (DXY) futures gained +2 267 contracts while shorts slumped -11 142 contracts, resulting in Net LENGTH of 18 072 contracts,...
Traders Turned More Bearish on Precious Metals as US Dollar Jumped
According to the CFTC Commitments of Traders report for the week ended Jun 19, net LENGTH for crude oil futures declined -14 346 contracts to 580 947. Net LENGTH for heating oil futures rose +16 653 contracts to 51 250 while that for gasoline soared +11 668 contracts to 97...
Swiss Franc and Yen Ended as Strongest, Worst of Trade War Yet to Come
The Swiss Franc and Japanese Yen ended last week as the strongest major currencies. Sentiments were hurt deeply by worries on global trade war. Over week, DOW lost -2.03%, S&P 500 lost -0.89%, DAX was down -3.31%, CAC dropped -2.08%, Nikkei lowered by -1.47%. China's Shanghai composite suffered most...
Euro Jumps on Solid PMI, Canadian Dollar Hammered by Retail Sales and CPI
Economic data and improving sentiments are the main drivers in the markets. Australian Dollar and New Zealand Dollar are so far the strongest ones today as European stocks rally. At this time of writing, FTSE is up 1.33%, DAX up 0.42% and CAC is up 0.97%. US futures also...
Sterling Rebound Short-Lived, Risk Aversion Regained Spotlight
The BoE triggered rebound in Sterling was relatively brief. Risk aversion quickly regained the spotlight in the markets. DOW extended its losing streak for the eight day and closed down -196.10 pts or -0.80% at 24461.70. S&P 500 and NASDAQ were down -0.63% and -0.88% respectively. Asian markets follow,...
BOE Voted 6-3 to Keep Rate at 0.5%, QE Tapering Might Come Sooner
Surprisingly, BOE voted 6-3 to leave the Bank rate on hold at 0.50%. Chief economist Andy Haldane joined Ian McCafferty and Michael Saunders in opting for a +25bps rate hike. The outcome is more hawkish than consensus of a 7-2 vote. The more split committee was resulted from the...
Sterling Jumps as Chance of August BoE Hike Revived by Haldane
Sterling trades as the strongest one today as markets were surprised by the voting on BoE Bank Rate. With the highly respected Chief Economist Andrew Haldane voted for a hike, the chance of an August move in interest rate is heavily boosted. The statement also showed a lot of...
Sterling and Swiss Mixed ahead of BoE and SNB, Dollar Surges as Lifted by Yields
Dollar overtakes Yen as the strongest current for the week as buying merges today. Overnight's rebound in treasury yield gives the greenback a helping hand. 10 year yield gained 0.035 to close the regular session at 2.928 and it breached 2.95 in Asia. Gold also extends recent slump on...
US Crude Inventory Fell More Than Expected, All Eyes on OPEC Meeting This Friday
Crude oil prices recovered US inventory fell more than expected. The focus this week is undoubtedly the OPEC meeting in Vienna on June 22-23. the cartel members, together with some non-OPEC producers, would discuss the possibility of raising output. A Bloomberg report suggests that the producers are considering an...
Forex Markets Calmed in Range, Focus Turns to Central Bankers
The forex markets are relatively steady today as sentiments stabilized a bit. Yen and Sterling are so far the strongest ones today but for different reasons. The Japanese Yen is digesting this week's strong risk aversion move, and seller could gather much momentum. Meanwhile, Sterling trying to pare back...
Yen Retreats Mildly as Sentiments Stabilized, Sterling Weak ahead of BoE
Sentiments somewhat stabilized slightly in Asia as markets digest trade war triggered losses. China's Shanghai composite is losing -0.59% at the time of writing. But Nikkei and Hong Kong HSI are up 0.36% and 0.41% respectively. DOW lost -287.26 or -1.15% to close at 24700.21, but it has already...
US Companies Doomed to Suffer from Trump’s Protectionist Policy
US-China trade tensions intensified shortly after Trump-Kim Summit. Last Friday (Jun 15), the White House announced that it would impose 25% tariffs on a list of Chinese exports worth of US$34B, effective on 6 July, with another list of goods, covering US$ 16B under further review. In response, China...
Risk Aversion Dominates as Trade War Could Mean More than Tariffs
The financial markets are rocked by Trump's over-the-top escalation in trade spat with China. At the time of writing, FTSE is down -0.4%, DAX down -1.2% and CAC down -1.1%. Dow opens by dropping more than -300%. In the currency markets, Yen and Swiss Franc are the strongest ones...