Over the weekend, traders were eager to see whether the US Dollar remained within its new pricing after the latest inflation figures. The US Dollar Index over the past 24 hours has mainly remained below 107.00 and has not shown any sign of a change in trend so far. The only currency pair which has moved in favor of the US Dollar has been the USD/JPY.
One of the latest developments which most investors are following are related to the G-20 meeting in Bali and the ongoing Midterms. Traders also continue to follow the breakdown of FTX, which seems like history again repeating itself, as the overall scenario looks very similar to the downturn of the Lehman Brothers.
Something which investors wanted to see from the G-20 meeting was a sense of stability and security, rather than a “Cold War” sentiment which has surrounded the global economy over the past 11 months. Investors seem to have positively reacted to the agreement on both Biden and Xi to release statements of friendship and both condemned nuclear war. We can see the positive reaction amongst global stocks, including both Asian and European Indices.
Investors this morning have also focused on the employment figures which have been released in the UK. The Bank of England has made it very clear that they are looking for the UK employment market to weaken in order to stabilize inflation. The UK Unemployment Rate increases from 3.5% to 3.6% and so far the GBP has positively reacted. The GBP was also supported by a lower than expected Claim Count Change, which was significantly lower.
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ this morning rose during the futures market by 0.57% after ending the day yesterday with a minor loss. Generally speaking, the NASDAQ has maintained its value after Thursday’s strong price spike, and the price has remained above all Moving Averages. As mentioned above, the price has also been supported by the positive comments coming from the latest Xi-Biden meeting, which lasted over 3-hours.
The Tech Sector in the US continues to advise that they believe sales and economic activity is likely to slow in the coming months. The prediction has led to many companies deciding to lower their employment force with the latest being Amazon yesterday evening. According to reports, Amazon may look to offload 3% of their overall workforce which is approximately 10,000. This should support the company’s profits, especially if consumer demand continues to surprise markets.
Investors also continue to monitor the developments surrounding the Federal Reserve and its monetary policy. On Sunday night, one of the Fed’s Governors, Christopher Waller, advised market’s that a lower interest rate decision cannot be known unless the US sees another similar decline in December. The US inflation rate declined by 0.5% during the months of October. Therefore, the Fed will be looking for inflation to decline to 7.2-7.3% during the month of November. Currently, the market is pricing in a 50 basis point hike.
Stock investors and also US Dollar traders will be looking to this afternoon’s scheduled economic releases. The US is expected to release their PPI which is expected to remain at 0.4%. In addition to this, investors will also monitor the Empire State Manufacturing Index.
Summary:
- Traders continue to monitor the ongoing G-20 Meeting and Midterms.
- Market’s react positively to the latest meeting between Biden and Xi.
- Amazon has decided to reduce its employment force by 3% due to an expected drop in sales.
- Traders look forward to the release of the US Producer Price Index.
