Stocks Continue to Rally after More US Data
US stock markets continue to rally as further data out in the US aided investor hopes that the Federal Reserve Bank has finished hiking rates in this cycle. Last night, PPI data showed the biggest decline in producer prices for over 3-years and Retail Sales came in better than expected and the major US indices reacted well although no where near as strongly as the night before after CPI numbers, the Dow rose 0.47%, the S&P 0.16% and the Nasdaq nudged 0.07% higher. Treasury yields had a bit of a reality check though after Tuesdays sell off, with the 10-year bouncing 9 basis points up to 4.53% and the 2-year adding 10 basis points back up to 4.92%. The dollar also regained some of the lost ground from it’s post CPI slump, the dollar index rising 0.3% and the UsdJpy noticeably bouncing over 100 pips off the 150.00 level.
Gold Remains Rangebound but Whippy
Gold pulled back off of weekly highs last night as the dollar regained some of its lost ground from its post CPI slump on Tuesday, but the world’s favourite precious metal still remains volatile within its recent range. In current conditions, Gold is trading in line with the big dollar as US treasury yields and rate expectations fluctuate, however it still remains vulnerable to any further geopolitical escalations in the Middle East. Traders are now expecting to see it to continue to trade within the range until we see either trends reassert themselves in the Usd or for safe-haven trades to kick in, with support no around the monthly lows, just above $1,930 and resistance coming in near the $2,000 level.
Markets Poised for More Moves Ahead Today
It looks set to be another busy day for traders ahead as the market digests a raft of fresh US numbers overnight and looks at some key updates from other jurisdictions. The Asian session opens with the focus moving squarely to the Australian market with the release of the latest employment data, expectation is for a rise of 23k jobs with the Unemployment rate moving up 0.1% to 3.7%. The European session is relatively quiet, although we are set to hear again from ECB President Christine LaGarde, but once again the US numbers will take prime spot on the calendar. This evening we have the weekly unemployment claims due out as well as the Philly Fed Index and Industrial Production data and traders are expecting to see more movement across the market as investors come to grips with these numbers coming on the back of what we have already seen this week.
