Markets Start the Week on the Up – Dow up 0.5%
Asian stock markets look set to start the day on the front foot after another good start to the week for US bourses. The Dow led the way higher, closing up 0.52% and notching up its 10th straight positive day on the bounce, followed closely by the S&P which added 0.4% with the Nasdaq lagging behind, up just 0.19% on the day. The dollar once again edged higher against most of the majors but noticeably against the Euro which dropped 0.5% after some weaker PMI results on the continent and US treasury yields pushed higher again ahead of the expected rate hike from the Fed tomorrow.
Black Gold in Focus for Investors – Oil up 2%
Oil prices have started to move higher once again as tightening supply issues combined with more anticipated demand create the perfect storm for bulls. Both Brent and WTI have experienced a good run over the last month and prices jumped over 2% again yesterday – Brent settling around $82.7/b and WTI at $78.7/b. The move has been assisted by OPEC+ production cuts as well as hints of stimulus from oil-hungry China. Traders noted that prices broke through the key 200-day moving average yesterday for the first time since August last year which would have had the duel effect of taking out some short-term speculative shorts as well as seeing further bulls entering the market.
Quiet Calendar Day Ahead of Central Bank Rush
The event calendar is relatively quiet today ahead of a major central bank rush into the end of the week. The Asian session has little on the calendar to upset the positive momentum from the US markets, although traders will be paying close attention to any fresh news out of China re stimulus etc. The London session is also fairly quiet with just the German Ifo Business Climate update to be released early in the day, however the New York session does have some potentially market-moving data in the form of the CB Consumer Confidence data and the Richmond Manufacturing Index – the Consumer Confidence expected to print higher at 112.1.
