Stocks and Dollar Climb on Stronger Data
US Stocks and the dollar rose yesterday after data in the US once again pointed to a resilient economy ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. The three major indices all recorded gains, the Dow leading the way, closing up 0.53%, followed closely by the Nasdaq and S&P which finished the day up 0.46% and 0.41% respectively. The dollar also gained ground against all the majors, with the exception of the loony, the dollar index finishing up 0.37%. US treasury yields closed close to flat after taking a dip earlier in the session before rallying after the data. Oil saw whippy moves as OPEC+ delayed a scheduled meeting and Gold fell off the $2,000 level again.
Traders Prepare for Holiday Markets for the Next Couple of Days
Traders are expecting to see holiday type markets for the next few days with lower liquidity and rangebound conditions. With the big Thanksgiving Day holiday in the US falling on a Thursday, workers traditionally take another day’s holiday to make an extra-long weekend and financial markets are no exception. The lack of direction and momentum from the world’s biggest economy tends to lead to quieter trading days but also leaves the market vulnerable to harder, faster, and more extended moves in thinner liquidity if there is a change in the underlying fundamentals. Traders therefore tend to trade the ranges hard but keep a wary eye on news wires for anything that could set markets off.
Thanksgiving Holidays dominate Market Calendar.
It is set to be a relatively quiet day for financial markets today as Thanksgiving holidays in both Japan and more significantly the US dominate the calendar. There is little on the event calendar for the APAC session and with Japan on holiday, traders are expecting more subdued trading conditions. The main risk events for the day come in the European session with Flash Manufacturing and Services PMI data releases due out in France, Germany, and the UK and traders are expecting anything away from expectation to hit markets. However, things are expected to quieten down later in the day as the usual US open fails to occur due to the Thanksgiving Day holiday.
