Stock Check:
The US Dollar has been the major out-performer of the day, driven by a significant selloff in US equities. All major US stock market indices have closed in the red, with technology stocks leading the dive during the overnight Asian session. Household stock names including Apple suffered immense losses during the premarket session, opening more than 4.5% below Monday’s closing price. Apple, like many US stocks, now trades at more than a 20% discount versus its highs last month, perpetuating underlying fears surrounding earnings growth and trade tensions. The selloff in the tech sector and across equity markets in general has driven investors to liquidate their holdings in company stocks and shares, instead holding their assets in the underlying US Dollar. The flight into cash and safer US Treasuries has generated a demand for the US Dollar that has allowed it to appreciate some one quarter of one percent on a trade weighted basis since market open. Defensive demand for the world’s major reserve currency in the face of an intensification of President Trump’s trade war has helped determine the demand for US cash, driving cable towards 1.28 and breaking key support of 1.14 against the Euro. On the European front, Brexit demands and concessions continue to create obstacles to May’s Brexit deal that was announced last week. Chief EU negotiator Michel Barmier has warned member states that their idiosyncratic demands and concerns should be constrained as fear surrounding the stability of May’s working majority and domestic popularity grow. Sterling has managed to largely hold onto its value throughout the day, however, markets want news, and fast.
Today’s Global Market:
Discussion and Analysis by Charles Porter
Onto June A slew of strong US economic data over recent weeks had boosted expectations for how the culmination of the Fed’s two-day meeting would be presented to the public last night. The story goes back further. The narrative dominant in late-2023 of a US economy in need of restrictive monetary policy was unavoidable. The […]
Germany and the EU The Germany Supply Chain Act came into force in 2023 as a result of Germans wanting to do something good for employees in other countries in particular with respect to human rights and environmental issues. So far so good. But a combination of cost and bureaucracy overlaid with the difficulty of […]
Emergency Stop In the early hours of trading on Monday morning, sudden and significant buying pressure within USDJPY has markets wondering: is this the signal that local authorities are taking another stab at active market intervention? In a critical week for FX, with central bank decisions and a slew of top-level economic data from across […]