Tag Archive: ECB

FX Daily, September 11: Still Reluctant to take Euro above $1.19 but Sterling Remains Unloved

Yesterday's roller-coaster price action has not had much impact on today's activity.  The slide in US equities after early gains failed to prevent Japanese, Chinese, and Hong Kong equities from advancing, though other markets in the region were not as resilient.

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FX Daily, September 10: ECB and Beyond

Overview:  A strong recovery in US stocks, a softer dollar, and higher gold and oil prices may signal the end of the brief though dramatic correction, but the market is in a bit of a holding pattern ahead of the ECB meeting.  Most of the major equity markets in the Asia Pacific region stabilized, except for Hong Kong and China.

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FX Daily, September 09: Investor Anxiety Continues to Run High Despite Some Stability in the Capital Markets

News that the AstraZeneca Phase 3 test had to be stopped to study the adverse reaction of one subject added to the uncertainty of investors amid one of the more significant reversals of risk appetites since March. Equities continued to slump in the Asia Pacific region, with many large markets off more than 1%, led by Australia's more than 2% decline.

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FX Daily, September 3: Corrective Forces Maintain Grip

The US dollar is continuing to recover after hitting new lows earlier in the week. It is lower against all the major currencies and most of the emerging markets. A report in the Financial Times suggesting that there is a concern about the euro's recent strength at the ECB has added a bit more fuel to the move, and the euro, which had pushed above $1.20 earlier in the week, briefly traded below $1.18. 

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FX Daily, September 2: Corrective Pressures Give the Greenback a Reprieve

After poking above $1.20 for the first time in more than two years, the euro reversed lower yesterday and is continuing to succumb to profit-taking pressures today.  Comments from ECB's Lane appeared to trigger a reversal yesterday throughout the currency markets.

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FX Daily, September 1: Dollar Lurches Lower

The US dollar has been sold-off across the board. The euro approached $1.20, and sterling neared $1.3450. The greenback traded below CAD1.30 for the first time since January. Most emerging market currencies but the Turkish lira, are also advancing today.

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FX Daily, August 31: Month-End Gyrations and the Fed’s Ad Hocery

Markets are searching for direction at month-end. Asia Pacific shares outside of Japan lower. Berkshire Hathaway confirmed taking a $6 bln stake in Japanese trading companies over the past year, and the pullback in the yen helped lift shares.  The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 2% last week. 

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Science of Sentiment: Zooming Expectations Wonder

It had been an unusually heated gathering, one marked by temper tantrums and often publicly expressed rancor. Slamming tables, undiplomatic rudeness. Europe’s leaders had been brought together by the uncomfortable even dangerous fact that the economic dislocation they’ve put their countries through is going to sustain enormously negative pressures all throughout them. What would a “united” European system do to try and fill in this massive hole?The...

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FX Daily, August 4: Markets Looking for Fresh Directional Cues

Asia Pacific equities rallied after the US shares rallied with the Nasdaq reaching record highs after it and the S&P 500 gapped higher yesterday.  Japan and Hong Kong led the rally with more than 2% gains, while the Shanghai Composite lagged with about a 0.1% gain.

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Accusing the Accused of Excusing the Mountain of Evidence

Why not let the accused also sit in the jury box? The answer seems rather obvious. While maybe the truly honest man accused of a crime he did commit would vote for his own conviction, the world seems a bit short on supply of those while long and deep offering up practitioners of pure sophistry in their stead.

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FX Daily, July 16: Equities Slide and the Greenback Bounces After China’s GDP and Before the ECB

Overview:  Profit-taking, perhaps spurred by disappointing retail sales figures, sent Chinese equity markets down by 4.5%-5.2% today, the most since early February.  It appears to be triggering a broader setback in equities today.  The Hang Seng fell 2%, and most other markets in the region were off less than 1%. 

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FX Daily, June 30: When Primary is Secondary

The gains in US equities yesterday carried into Asia Pacific trading today, but the European investors did not get the memo. The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 is succumbing to selling pressure and giving back yesterday's gain.  Energy and financials are the biggest drags, while real estate and information technology sectors are firm.  All the markets had rallied in the Asia Pacific region, with the Nikkei and Australian equities leading with around 1.3%...

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FX Daily, June 25: Contagion Growth and Calendar-Effect Saps Investor Enthusiasm

Given the huge run-up in risk assets this quarter, and the technical indicators warning of corrective forces, concerns over the new infections is pushing on an open door. The S&P 500 gapped lower yesterday and fell 2.6%, led by energy and airlines. The NASDAQ snapped an eight-day rally. Follow-through selling in the Asia Pacific region saw most markets fall at least 1%, with Korea and Australia seeing losses in excess of 2%.

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FX Daily, June 17: Correction Phase does not Appear Over

Overview:  Investors have not yet completely shaken off the angst that saw equities slide last week.  All equity markets in the Asia Pacific region, but Japan, edged higher today, including China, India, and South Korea, where political/military tensions are elevated.  Europe followed suit, and the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 is firm near yesterday's highs. It has entered but not yet filled the gap created by the sharply lower opening on June 11.

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ECB Doubles Its QE; Or, The More Central Banks Do The Worse You Know It Will Be

A perpetual motion machine is impossible, but what about a perpetual inflation machine? This is supposed to be the printing press and central banks are, they like to say, putting it to good and heavy use. But never the inflation by which to confirm it. So round and round we go. The printing press necessary to bring about consumer price acceleration, only the lack of consumer price acceleration dictates the need for more of the printing press.

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FX Daily, June 5: Greenback Remains Soft Ahead of Employment Report, but Reversal Possible

The modest loss in the S&P 500 and NASDAQ yesterday did not signal the end of the bull run. All the markets in the Asia Pacific region rallied, with the Hang Seng among the strongest with a 1.6% advance that brought the week's gain to around 7.8%. South Korea's Kospi was not far behind with a weekly gain of 7.5%.  In the past two weeks, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index is up nearly 10%. 

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FX Daily, June 4: Risk Taking Pauses Ahead of the ECB

Overview: After several days of aggressive risk-taking, investors are pausing ahead of the ECB meeting.  Equities were mostly higher in the Asia Pacific region, though China was mixed, and Indian shares slipped.  Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 is snapping a five-day advance, and US shares are trading with a heavier bias. The S&P 500 gapped higher yesterday, and that gap (~3081-3099) offers technical support.

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FX Daily, May 29: Month-End Profit-Taking Weighs on Equities as the Euro Pops Above $1.11

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 lows, and this carried over into today's activity, which also may be reflecting month-end adjustments.

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FX Daily, May 28: Escalating Tensions, Calm Markets

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 European equities are mostly higher.

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FX Daily, May 27: China and Hong Kong Pressures are Having Limited Knock-on Effects

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, but Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Indian equity markets rose.

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