Overview: The US dollar is bid against most currencies today, encouraged not just by good news in the US and poor news out of China, where Covid is flaring up and new social restrictions are fared, while Macau has been lockdown for a week. The energy crisis in Europe is fanning fears of a recession before the ECB lift rates above zero. Japanese markets bucked the global move and advanced, which it often does after the government wins an upper house election. The...
Read More »Johnson Resigns, but Still not Clear if He Controls the Timing
Overview: The resignation of a UK prime minister makes for high political drama, but the markets hardly moved on it. Sterling, like most of the major currencies, are recovering against the dollar today. UK equities are higher but are not really outperforming their peers. Asia Pacific bourses rallied, with Taiwan leading the way with a 2.5% surge. Europe’s Stoxx 600 is up 1.4% after yesterday’s 1.65% gain. US futures are around 0.25%-0.35% better. Benchmark bond...
Read More »The Dollar Remains Bid, while Sterling Shrugs Off Johnson’s Political Woes
Overview: The dollar jumped yesterday making new highs against most of the major currencies, including the euro, sterling, the dollar-bloc and the Scandis. The yen and Swiss franc held in better, but the greenback still closed firmly against the yen despite a six-basis point decline in the 10-year yield. The Swiss franc rose to its highest level against the euro since the lifting of the cap in early 2015. After opening sharply lower, the S&P 500 and NASDAQ...
Read More »The Dollar Jumps and the Euro Slips under $1.03
Overview: The dollar is soaring today, and the euro is trading at new 22-year lows having traded below $1.03. Even a 50 bp hike by the Reserve Bank of Australia has failed to prevent a sharp drop in the Australian dollar. The session seemed to have begun off well enough. Japan, South Korean, Taiwan, Australian, and Indian shares advanced in the Asia Pacific region. Europe’s Stoxx 600 began off firmly, but quickly unwound yesterday’s 0.55% gain. US futures are...
Read More »Stocks Hit as Central Banks Brandish Anti-Inflation Efforts
Overview: Central banks are committed to combatting inflation even as the economies weaken. This is taking a toll on investor sentiment and is dragging down equities. Outside of China, where the PMI confirms a recovery, and India, where most large bourses in the region were off 1-2%. Europe’s Stoxx 600 snapped a three-day rally yesterday with a 0.65% decline. Near midday, its loss today is approaching 2%. US futures are 1.5%-2.0% lower. Bond yields are falling. The...
Read More »Spanish Inflation Shocks
Overview: The sharp sell-off in US equities yesterday, led by tech, is weighing on today’s activity. Most of the large Asia Pacific markets excluding Japan and India lost more than 1% today. The three-day rally in Europe’s Stoxx 600 is being snapped today. US futures are posting small losses. The US 10-year yield is little changed around 3.17%, while European benchmarks are narrowly mixed, with the periphery doing better than the core. The dollar is enjoying a firmer...
Read More »Risk Appetites Improve Ahead of the Weekend
Overview: Equities are higher and bonds lower as the week's activity winds down. Asia Pacific markets rallied, paced by more than 2% gains in Hong Kong and South Korea. Japan's Nikkei rallied more than 1%, as did China's CSI 300. Most of the large markets but South Korea and Taiwan advanced this week, though only China and Hong Kong are up for the month. Europe's Stoxx 600 is up 1.3% through the European morning, its biggest advance of the week and what looks like...
Read More »Johnson’s Ability to Lead Tories into Victory at Risk with Today’s By-Elections
Overview: Asia Pacific equities were mixed. Gains were recorded in China, Hong Kong, Australia, and India, among the large markets, while Japan was mostly flat and South Korea and Taiwan shares fell. Europe's Stoxx 600 is off about 0.7%, the same as yesterday. US futures are slightly firmer. The rally in bonds continues. After falling nearly a dozen basis points yesterday, the US 10-year yield is off another 5 bp today around 3.10% it is near two-and-a-half week...
Read More »Risk Appetites are Fickle
Overview: Yesterday’s strong US equity gains failed to carry over into today’s session. Japanese and Australian shares fared the best among the large Asia Pacific market, with the Nikkei off less than 0.4% and the ASX off less than 0.25%. However, China’s markets were off more than 1%, while Taiwan and South Korea indices slumped more than 2%. India is off nearly 1.5%. Europe’s Stoxx 600 is down 1.5% and is giving back all of its gains in the past three sessions. US...
Read More »Equities Jump, Dollar Slips, and European Yields Drop
Overview: Stocks are rallying. Nearly all the large bourses in the Asia Pacific region rose with China being the noted exception. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 is up over 1% to post gains for the third consecutive session, the longest advance this month. US futures are up around 2% as they return from yesterday’s holiday. While the US 10-year yield has edged up 3.26%, European yields are mostly softer, with the peripheral premiums falling more than core rates. The US...
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