US stocks pump and dump on FOMC, Powell and Yellen comments

US equities finished in the red in Wednesdays session , the session was volatile with some big moves in all risk assets which was unsurprising with probably the most important FOMC meeting we’ve had in the last 12 months. The FOMC hiked rates 25bp as expected, there was an initial rally in equities and drop in the USD as the accompanying state...

March 23, 2023
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The Fed, between a rock and a hard place – FOMC preview

Todays FOMC rate decision is certainly in play, with recent turmoil in the banking sector caused in no small part by aggressive Fed hikes over the last 12 months, throws a very big spanner in the works of the Feds plan to combat inflation. Up until a couple of weeks ago a 50bp hike was pretty much fully priced in as the Fed refused to budge on t...

March 22, 2023
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US stocks continue rally, Gold takes a big hit and EURUSD outperforms ahead of pivotal FOMC meeting

US equities rallied for a second day amid further stability in the banking sector with assurances from treasury secretary Janet Yellen that the US financial system was safe helping to improve investors mood. All major indexes finished in the green with a big bounce in regional banks seeing the Russel 2000 outperform, up almost 2% on the day, wit...

March 22, 2023
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Nike results announced

World’s largest sporting goods company, Nike Inc. (NYSE:NKE) reported fiscal 2023 financial results for its third quarter after the closing bell in the US on Tuesday. Nike beat both revenue and earnings per share (EPS) estimates for the quarter ending February 28, 2023. Revenue reported at $12.4 billion (up by 14% year-over-year) vs. $11.48...

March 22, 2023
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US stocks rally as banking sector fears ease, USD and Gold down, Yields up

US markets rose modestly in Mondays session on a more positive tone in the banking sector following on from the UBS – Swiss government bail out of Credit Suisse over the weekend and hopes US banking regulators would backstop deposits to restore confidence in US mid-sized banks. We saw green across all major indexes, the NASDQ being the lagged ...

March 21, 2023
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The week ahead – SNB, Federal Reserve and BoE rate decisions

US and European markets dropped steeply on Friday as investors remained shaken by the fallout of bank collapses in the US and the issues at Credit Suisse ahead of a pivotal week in Central Bank policy meetings. Over weekend a SNB brokered deal a deal was announced that UBS will buy rival Credit Suisse for 3 billion Francs and agreed to assum...

March 20, 2023
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Bank bailouts see markets bounce, ECB surprises with big hike

Thursdays US session was  risk on led by global banking support after SNB gave a lifeline to Credit Suisse while 11 large US banks stepped up to help First Republic (FRC). In spite of the backdrop of recent bank turmoil the ECB hiked 50bp surprising the market that had priced in a 25bp hike. Even though the size was larger than expected (though...

March 17, 2023
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Will the ECB continue with a 50bps hike as planned?

In the lead-up to the European Central Bank (ECB) interest rate decision this week, the market has seen significant turmoil. Firstly from the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) failure, followed by the news that Credit Suisse’s largest financial backer is unlikely to provide further financial support. This led to Credit Suisse stock plunging by more than ...

March 16, 2023
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Stocks and Oil hammered, Gold and Bonds rally on Credit Suisse woes

US indexes finished in the red today with the exception of the Nasdaq which eked out a small gain as banking fears spread to Europe. Shares of Credit Suisse plunged to all time lows on fears of the banks financial position and after a top investor in the form of the Saudi National Bank ruled out any further financial help for the bank. US Stocks...

March 16, 2023
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US equities whipsaw on CPI, S&P downgrade – Oil and BTC at critical levels

We had roller coaster of a ride on US markets in Tuesdays session, US markets initially moved higher on a CPI figure that came in line with expectations taking a little bit of pressure off the fed and no more news of banks going bust. The punchbowl was taken away later in the session though as news of a US drone and Russian jet colliding paired ...

March 15, 2023
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How to trade the US Dollar Index

The US Dollar Index (DXY) is a popular tool used by forex traders to assess the value of the US dollar relative to a basket of other major currencies. The DXY is calculated using the weighted average of six major currencies: the euro, yen, pound sterling, Canadian dollar, Swedish krona, and Swiss franc. To use the DXY to trade forex, you can fol...

March 14, 2023
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US Equities mixed, Bonds and gold fly on SVB contagion fears

Well, that was an interesting session.. US futures opened flat on Monday, before news of a Federal bailout of SVB depositors saw index futures soar, the Dow up over 400 points early in the session. This didn't last however as contagion fears saw stock sell off over the session, with only the Nasdaq able to hold onto a gain, which is not surpr...

March 14, 2023
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Bank of Canada keeps interest rates at 4.50%

This week, the Bank of Canada (BoC) released its decision to hold interest rates at the current level of 4.50%. In the rate statement, the BoC indicated that inflation has eased to 5.9%, and the expectation for weaker economic growth and a moderation of wage growth could see inflation continue on its downward trajectory. The BoC highlighted that it...

March 10, 2023
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USDJPY – Bank of Japan Policy Decision & the 10-yr JGB Yield

The USDJPY had been trading steadily higher in February, from the 128.50 support level, up toward the 137 round number resistance level. This move was driven by a combination of fundamental reasons (strengthening of the DXY and overall weakness of the Japanese Yen) and technical setup (the golden cross, where the 50-period Moving Average crossed ov...

March 6, 2023
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US stocks lift off after Bostic comments, EU sees record inflation print driving bond yields higher

A strong US labour market figure , unemployment claims dropped to 190k when 196k was expected, in combination with a record high Core CPI figure out of Europe saw the US equity session get off to a rocky start as bond yields soared. That all changed later in the session as a Bloomberg headline hit with comments from Fed member Bostic. Whi...

March 3, 2023
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