The week ahead is important from a macro perspective. The data highlights include China's PMI, eurozone preliminary October CPI and Q3 GDP, and the US (and Canadian) employment reports. In addition, the Federal Reserve meeting on November 2 is sandwiched between the Reserve Bank of Australia meeting and the Bank of England meeting.Let us preview the data before turning to the central banks. Yet the challenge with the data is that the underlying macro views are...
Read More »Dollar Slumps, Yuan Rallies by Most this Year amid Intervention Talk
Overview: The US dollar is having one of toughest days of the year. It has been sold across the board and taken out key levels like parity in the euro, $1.15 in sterling, and CAD1.36. The Chinese yuan surged over 1%. Chinese officials promised healthy bond and stock markets. There is some talk that the PBOC may have intervened directly in the forex market. Large bourses in the Asia Pacific region rallied and the CSI 300 rose by 0.8%, its first gain of the week. After...
Read More »Consolidative Tuesday
Overview: The yen and sterling are trading quietly after the recent drama, but with the Party Congress ending, the Chinese yuan has been permitted to fall faster. It approached the 2% band today and its loss of about 0.65% today makes it the weakest among the emerging market currencies. Most of the major currencies seem to be consolidating. Chinese stocks pared earlier losses as foreign buying via the Hong Kong link returned after large sales yesterday. Asia Pacific...
Read More »Macro and Prices: The Week Ahead
There are five macro highlights in the week ahead. After providing a thumbnail sketch of them, we will look more closely at the price action of the leading dollar-pairs. We suspect that the dollar is in the process of carving out a top amid ideas that a 5.0% terminal Fed funds rate is discounted. Sterling’s panic low recorded late September near $1.0350 may indeed by the cyclical low. It took place amid cries that it was an emerging market and linear projections...
Read More »Turn Around Tuesday Aside, is the Dollar Topping?
Overview: Global equities moved higher in the wake of the strong gains in the US yesterday. US futures point to the possibility of a gap higher opening today. Most of the large Asia Pacific bourses rallied 1%-2%, with China’s CSI a notable exception, slipping fractionally. Europe’s Stoxx 600 is edging higher and is near two-week highs. If the gains are sustained, it will be the fourth consecutive advancing session, the longest in two months. Benchmark yields are...
Read More »Sterling and UK Debt Market Respond Favorably to the Return of Orthodoxy
Overview: The markets have returned from the weekend with a greater appetite for risk. Equities and bonds are rallying, and the dollar is better offered. China, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Indian bourses advanced. Mainland shares edged higher even though Zhengzhou, a city of one million people, near an iPhone manufacturing hub was locked down due to Covid. Europe’s Stoxx 600 is up nearly 0.5% to extend its recovery into a third session. US futures are trading a...
Read More »Week Ahead: Focus Shifts away from the US after Robust Jobs Data and Stronger than Expected Inflation
The latest US employment and inflation figures are passed. The market is confident of a 75 bp rate hike next month. While a 50 bp in December is still the odds-on favorite, the market has a slight chance (~15%) of a 100 bp move instead after the robust jobs report and stronger-than-expected September CPI. The implied yield of the December Fed funds futures has ground higher for 12 consecutive sessions to about 4.23%. After two straight quarters of contraction, the...
Read More »Dollar Recovers from Yesterday’s Stunning Reversal, but has Sentiment Turned in North America?
Overview: There has been little follow-through dollar selling so far today after yesterday’s dramatic downside reversal after the initial flurry of buying in response to the stronger than expected US CPI. Still, the upticks look corrective in nature and the intraday momentum indicators are stretched, raising the prospect of new sales by North American operators today. The sharp recovery in US equities did carry over into Asia and Europe where most bourses are ending...
Read More »The Tragedy of the Commons
Overview: The dramatic moves spurred by the BOE maintaining the end of the week deadline for its Gilt purchases, which have been quite modest given its wherewithal, have calmed. Sterling is firmer on the day, though long-end Gilt yields are higher. The dollar has pushed above JPY145.90, where the BOJ intervened last month. Risk appetites more broadly appear to have stabilized, but we suggest it may be a modest bout of position adjusting ahead of tomorrow’s US CPI....
Read More »New Week, but same Old Stocks (Heavier) and Dollar (Stronger)
Overview: The start of the new week has not broken the bearish drive lower in equities. Several Asia Pacific centers were closed, including Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. China’s markets re-opened, and the new US sanctions coupled with the disappointing Caixin service and composite PMI took its toll. The CSI 300 was off 2.2% and the Hang Seng dropped nearly 3%. After falling 1.2% at the end of last week, Europe’s Stoxx 600 gapped lower today and is off almost...
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