Risk Trades Roar

A softened tone from China sparked a complete reversal of Friday’s worries in a massive rally for stock markets. The New Zealand dollar was the top performer while the yen lagged. The Asia-Pacific calendar is light but new RBNZ governor Adrian Orr may make comments has he takes up the role. Below is the weekly video for Premium subscribers, shedding light on the remaining 7 trades.

What a difference a weekend makes. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang promised China would open up further and eliminate technology transfers along with balanced trade. Signs of a concession towards the US sparked a massive reversal in risk trades and the biggest one-day rally in US equities since 2015.

The S&P 500 gained 70 points, or 2.7%, to 2658 in a jump from the 200-day moving average. FX wasn’t quite as euphoric as yen crosses climbed around 1% but they weren’t as negative on the way down either. The drop and reversal underscores how sensitive the market is to trade at the moment. It’s overshadowing nearly everything else.

Despite a diminished threat of a trade war, the US dollar still suffered on most fronts. Technically, the euro broke above the March high to the best since Feb 15. Cable climbed to the highest since Feb 1 and is approaching a cluster or resistance around the 2018 highs.

Ashraf Laidi
Ashraf Laidihttp://ashraflaidi.com/
Ashraf Laidi is an independent strategist and trader, founder of Intermarket Strategy Ltd and author of "Currency Trading & Intermarket Analysis". He is the former chief global strategist at City Index / FX Solutions, where he focused on foreign exchange and global macro developments pertaining to central bank policies, sovereign debt and intermarket dynamics. Ashraf had also served as Chief Strategist at CMC Markets, where he headed a global team of analysts and led seminars and trainings in four continents. His insights on currencies and commodities won him several #1 rankings with FXWeek and Reuters. Prior to CMC Markets, Laidi monitored the performance of a multi-FX portfolio at the United Nations, assessed sovereign and project investment risk with Hagler Bailly and the World Bank, and analyzed emerging market bonds at Reuters. Laidi also created the first 24-hour currency web site for traders and researchers alike on the eve of the creation of the euro. Laidi's analysis of currency markets stand out based on his distinct style in bridging the fundamental and technical aspects of the markets. Laidi regularly appears on CNBC TV (US, Europe, Arabia and Asia/Pacific), Bloomberg TV (US, Asia/Pacific, France and Spain), BNN, PBSs Nightly Business Report, and BBC. His insights also appear in the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal and Barrons. He has given numerous interviews and lectures in Arabic, French, and to audiences spanning from Canada, Central America and Asia/Pacific.

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