Tag Archive: #USD

FX Daily, July 17: Markets Limp into the Weekend

2020-07-17

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2020-07-17

Chinese stocks stabilized after yesterday's sharp fall and most Asia Pacific equity markets, but Tokyo rose today.  European shares are little changed, but the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 is still poised to hold on to modest gains for the third consecutive week. 

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

2020-07-16

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2020-07-16

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, July 15: The Dollar Slumps and EU Court Rules in Favor of Apple

2020-07-15

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2020-07-15

A recovery in US stocks yesterday, coupled with optimism over Moderna's vaccine, is providing new fodder for risk appetites today.  Equities are being driven higher, and the dollar is under pressure.  Most equity markets in Asia advanced.  China and Taiwan were exceptions, and, in fact, the Shanghai Composite fell for the second consecutive session for the first time in a month.

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FX Daily, July 14: Turn Around Tuesday Began Yesterday

2020-07-14

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2020-07-14

Overview: Turn around Tuesday began yesterday with a key reversal in the high-flying NASDAQ. It soared to new record highs before selling off and settling below the previous low. The S&P 500 saw new four-month highs and then sold-off and ended on its lows with a loss of nearly 1% on the session. Asia Pacific shares fell, led by declines in Hong Kong and India.

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FX Daily, July 13: Risk Appetites Firm, but the Greenback is Mixed

2020-07-13

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2020-07-13

Equities began the week on a firm note in the Asia Pacific region.  The Nikkei gained more than 2%, and the profit-taking seen in China ahead of the weekend was a one-day phenomenon.  The Shanghai Composite rose 1.8%, and the Shenzhen Composite surged 3.5%.  Taiwan and South Korea markets also rallied more than 1%.

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FX Daily, July 10: Surge in Coronavirus Spooks Investors as China Takes Profits

2020-07-10

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2020-07-10

Record fatalities in a few US states, coupled with new travel restrictions in Italy and Australia, have given markets a pause ahead of the weekend. News that two state-backed funds in China took profits snapped the eight-day advance in Shanghai at the same time as there is an attempt to rein in the use of margin.

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FX Daily, July 9: The Dollar is Sold through CNY7.0 as Chinese Equities Continue to Rally

2020-07-09

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2020-07-09

Investors continue to clamor into risk assets.  Led by Chinese shares, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index pushed higher for the third session this week to new five-month highs.  Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 is trying to snap a two-day decline with the help of better than expected revenues for its largest tech company.

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FX Daily, July 07: Fade the Dollar Gains

2020-07-07

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2020-07-07

The S&P 500 rallied 1.6% yesterday to extend the streak to a fifth consecutive session, and the longest of the year and completed the negation of a bearish technical pattern.  However, the main feature today is a wave of profit-taking on risk assets.  Most equity markets moved lower in the Asia Pacific region. Chinese markets were a notable exception.

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Cool Video: Dollar, Trade, and China on TDA Network

2020-07-07

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2020-07-07

I began my career as a reporter on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, covering the currency futures and short-term interest rate futures for a news wire. Among other things, I learned that often, the locals, people trading with their own money and wits, would take the opposite side of trades of the institutional players.

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FX Daily, July 6: New Record Number of Covid Cases Doesn’t Curtail Appetite for Risk

2020-07-06

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2020-07-06

Overview: A new daily high number of contagions globally has been reported, but the risk-appetites have been stoked.  Chinese stocks have been on a tear.  The Shanghai Composite rallied 5.7% today to bring the five-day advance to 13.6%.  Most other regional markets, including Hong Kong, rallied as well (3.8%).  Australia was the main exception, and it pulled back by 0.7%.  It is still up a solid 3.4% over the past five sessions.

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FX Daily, July 2: Dollar Thumped Ahead of US Jobs Report

2020-07-02

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2020-07-02

Market optimism over the possibility of a vaccine in early 2021 overshadowed the continued surge in US cases, where the 50k-a-day threshold of new cases has been breached.  Following the NASDAQ close yesterday at record highs, global equities have advanced.  Led by Hong Kong returning from yesterday's holiday, Asia Pacific equities rallied.  Most local markets rose by more than 1%, though Tokyo and Taiwan lagged.

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July Monthly preview

2020-07-02

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2020-07-02

Many major and emerging central banks took action in June, but outside of possible technical adjustments will continue with the current supportive stance in July. The policy focus will shift back to fiscal initiatives. The highlights will be the EU Summit on July 12, which is considering the EC's 750 bln euro package of grants and loans, and the US decision regarding the $600 a week extra unemployment insurance (expiring at the end of July) and...

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FX Daily, July 1: Second Verse Can’t be Worse than the First, Can it?

2020-07-01

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2020-07-01

The resurgence of the contagion in the US has stopped or reversed an estimated 40% of the re-openings, but the appetite for risk has begun the second half on a firm note, helped by manufacturing PMIs that were above preliminary estimates or better than expected.  Except for Tokyo and Seoul, equities in the Asia Pacific region rose.  The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose almost 15.5% in Q2. 

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FX Daily, June 30: When Primary is Secondary

2020-06-30

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2020-06-30

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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Cool Video: Forces Driving the Dollar and Downplaying Claims Sterling is an Emerging Market Currency

2020-06-30

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2020-06-30

From my remote location in Ocean Grove (next to Asbury Park of Bruce Springstein fame), I joined Martin Soong and Sir Jegarajah for a brief interview as the Asia session was about to begin the new week. A three-minute clip of the interview can be found here.

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FX Daily, June 29: USD is Offered in Quiet Start to the New Week

2020-06-29

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2020-06-29

The combination of rising virus cases and the sell-off in the US before the weekend dragged nearly all the Asia Pacific bourses lower.  The Nikkei led the way with more than a 2% drop, but most bourses were off more than 1%.  China and Taiwan were also greeted with selling as markets re-opened from a two-day holiday at the end of last week. 

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FX Daily, June 26: Investors Wrestle with Notion that More Covid Cases mean More Stimulus

2020-06-26

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2020-06-26

It may be that a new surge in virus cases will elicit more policy support from officials, but the immediate focus may be on the economic disruption. The number of US cases is reaching records, and at least a couple of states are stopping their re-opening efforts. Several other countries, including parts of Australia, Japan, and Germany, are wrestling with the same thing, And some emerging markets, like Brazil and Mexico, have not experienced a lull.

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

2020-06-25

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2020-06-25

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 24: Risk Appetites Satiated for the Moment

2020-06-24

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2020-06-24

Overview: The rally in risk assets in North America yesterday is failing to carry over into today's activity. Asia Pacific equities were mixed. Korea and Indonesia led the advances with more than 1% gain. China and Taiwan also gained. Japan and Hong Kong. Europe's Dow Jone's Stoxx 600 is giving back yesterday's gains (~1.3%) plus some and US stocks are heavy.

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