US stocks were unable to hold onto earlier gains as Wall Street digested a swathe of economic data that showed inflation is easing and the labor market is cooling. ? It’s been a nice rally but no one wants to be aggressively bullish heading into the NFP report. Yesterday’s Fed Chair Powell speech was good news for risky assets as he focused on inflation coming down and that the economy is doing well. ? The risks of overtightening have many expecting the Fed to end its tightening cycle early next year and that will continue if the labor market softens quickly. ? Earlier, investors were looking for any signs to buy stocks after reports that China was getting ready to release new Covid guidelines. China is far … [Read More...]

We’re seeing subdued trading at the end of the week, with the absence of the US leaving markets lacking any notable direction. This isn’t really unusual and at the end of the week too, it really makes sense. Barring a flurry of big headlines from elsewhere, we could now see equity markets just drift into the weekend with investors already having an eye on next week. Perhaps today people are trading in their charts for some Black Friday deals, the outcome of which will certainly be on everyone’s radar. Going into the holiday season, we’ll get an early idea of the state of play for household spending in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis. Of course, it will naturally be difficult … [Read More...]

The New Zealand dollar has extended its rally on Wednesday. In the European session, NZD/USD is trading at 0.6181, up 0.47%. RBNZ delivers record hike The Reserve Bank of New Zealand pushed the rate pedal to the floor today, with a supersize rate hike of 75 basis points, a record high. This raised the cash rate to 4.25%, up from 3.5% and the highest level since 2008. The move was widely expected, but nonetheless, it sent bond yields and the New Zealand dollar higher. The RBNZ is forecasting that the cash rate will peak at 5.5% in 2023, which means there’s plenty of life left in the current rate-tightening cycle, with the RBNZ currently boasting the highest cash rates among the major central banks. The bank has designated … [Read More...]

The Canadian dollar has edged lower on Wednesday. In the North American session, USD/CAD is trading at 1.3428, up 0.42%. Is Canada heading towards a recession? The Canadian consumer is in a sour mood. I don’t blame her, given the cost-of-living crisis and higher mortgage payments due to rising interest rates. Retail sales for September slipped 0.5% MoM as expected, but lower than the August gain of 0.4%. More worrying, retail sales fell by 1.0% QoQ, the first quarterly decline since Q2 2020. The decline in consumer spending could well be a result of the Bank of Canada’s concerted effort to beat inflation with a steep rate-hike cycle, which has raised the cash rate to 3.75%. Despite this, inflation has been stickier than … [Read More...]

Oil Crude prices remain volatile as energy traders digest another round of economic data that supports the idea that the Fed could still deliver a soft landing and as stockpiles remain near 18-year lows. ? Earlier crude was lower as Beijing struggles with surging Covid cases. ? Also what’s keeping the oil market on edge is the proposed price cap on Russian crude. ? Some analysts expect only a modest drop in Russian production but we won’t find that out until next month. Oil surged after reports that the Druzhba pipeline is halting oil deliveries from Russia. ? The oil price rally extended after reports that two Russian missiles crossed into Poland and killed two people. ? Gold Gold prices are steadying as Wall Street appears set … [Read More...]