Overview: A rotation of sorts seems to be unfolding. The euro posted its second back-to-back loss in over a month. The Canadian dollar, which has been an under-performer among the major currencies for the past six weeks, gained, while most fell. The Dow Industrials and S&P 500 rose, the high flying NASDAQ fell for the …
Gold and the Dollar are Sold while Stocks March Higher Read More »
Overview: Investors begin the new week, perhaps slowed a bit by the weekend developments and the growth of new infections. Equities are mixed. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index snapped a four-day advance, though India bucked the regional trend and gained 1%. Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 is recovering from an early dip to four-day lows. US …
Overview: Liquidity trumps everything else. US equities shrugged off the national guard being called into action in nearly a third of US states, and the S&P 500 closed yesterday at nearly three-month highs. Asia Pacific markets followed suit. Most markets in the region rose by more than 1%. The notable exceptions were Australia and China, where …
Sometimes it is easier to have a sense of what will not happen, rather than a view of what will happen. No Negative Rates in the US: Nearly every Federal Reserve official has argued against the deployment of negative interest rates in the US. It is also not completely clear that the same Congressional authorization …
Overview: US stocks extended their gains ahead of the weekend after President Trump shied away from specific actions against China-Hong Kong, and today Hong Kong shares recovered smartly from last week’s 3.6% slide. The Hang Seng rose 3.3% today, and the Shanghai Composite gained over 2%. All the markets in the region advanced. Europe’s Dow …
US Dollar Losses are Extended, but Momentum Stalls in the European Morning Read More »
Overview: The announcement that President Trump will hold a press conference on China later today rattled investors yesterday after they had earlier shrugged off the escalation of tension between the US and China to take the S&P 500 up to its highest level in nearly three months. The S&P 500 reversed and settled on its …
Month-End Profit-Taking Weighs on Equities as the Euro Pops Above $1.11 Read More »
Overview: The US Secretary of State’s announcement that the autonomy of Hong Kong could no longer be affirmed did not derail the rally in US equities. However, the threat of an executive order against social media companies may be discouraging follow-through buying, leaving US equities little changed ahead of the open. In contrast, Asia Pacific and …
Overview: The S&P 500 gapped higher yesterday, above the recent ceiling and above the 200-day moving average for the first time since early March. The momentum faltered, and it finished below the opening level and near session lows. The spill-over into today’s activity has been minor. The heightened tensions weighed on China and Hong Kong markets, …
China and Hong Kong Pressures are Having Limited Knock-on Effects Read More »
Overview: The heightened tensions between the US and China sapped risk-appetites before the weekend, but appear to be missing in action today. Equity markets have rebounded strongly. Nearly all the equity markets in the Asia Pacific region rose (India was a laggard) led by an almost 3% rally in Australia, which was seen as particularly …
The US and UK markets were closed on Monday. Together they accounted for almost two-thirds of the turnover in the foreign exchange market. The dollar was narrowly mixed against the majors. The dollar bloc and sterling ticked a little higher, and the euro and yen were a touch heavier. The illiquidity seemed to weigh on …