The NZD is the strongest and the USD is the weakest as NA traders enter for the day
The USD and JPY were the strongest on Friday
The NZD is the strongest and the USD is the weakest. On Friday, the week ended with the USD and JPY being the strongest of the majors as the market reacted to the hawkish comments from Fed’s Bullard earlier in the day. The USD was the strongest of the majors last week as well. Today is a “correction day” to start the week. Stocks are higher in pre-market trading after a lower close on Friday. Today is Amazon’s prime day (it ends tomorrow). US yields are higher across the board in early trading. The yield curve flattened last week as investors anticipated the Fed stopping inflation quicker as a result of their more hawkish stance. Feds Bullard, Kaplan, Williams are all on the schedule to speak today. ECB’s Lagarde will be at the European Parliament. Tomorrow, Feds Powell will testify before the House select subcommittee on coronavirus crisis tomorrow.
Looking at the ranges and changes, the dollar is trading near the lows for the day versus the EUR, CAD, AUD and NZD. The USDJPY – after moving lower earlier in the session – is rebounding toward the unchanged level The USDCHF has the same picture. JPY cross currency pairs are higher after moving lower earlier in the day. Low to high trading ranges are near the 22 day averages which is pretty good action for a Monday.
- Spot gold is trading up $15.30 or 0.87% at $1779.56
- Spot silver is up $0.18 or 0.7% $25.96
- WTI crude oil is up $0.10 or 0.14% of $71.74
- Bitcoin is trading has moved lower over the weekend and trades at $32,471. The low for the day reached $31,700. The May 19 low reached $30,066. There remains a target (along with the $30,000 level) on the downside. China is clamping down on crypto mining.
In the premarket for US stocks, the major indices are marginally higher after declines on Friday:
- Dow is up 165 points. On Friday the index fell -533.37 point. The week was the weakest this year for the Dow
- S&P is up 12 points. On Friday the index fell -55.41 points
- NASDAQ index up 24 points. On Friday the NASDAQ felt -130.97 point
In the European equity markets, the major indices are trading mostly higher (the exception is the Ibex index)
- German DAX, +0.68%
- France’s CAC, +0.2%
- UK’s FTSE 100, +0.1%
- Spain’s Ibex, -0.25%
- Italy’s FTSE MIB +0.2%
In the US debt market, the yields are higher across the board after last week’s shift of the yield curve to a flatter one. The 2-10 year yield spread is near unchanged at 118.20 basis points. The 30 year yield is the biggest mover at +2.8 basis points.
Germany and UK higher. France yields are lower 5-1.9 basis points after the regional elections. Spain in Portugal rates are also lower.