Headlines:
Markets:
- EUR leads, GBP and JPY lag on the day
- European equities higher; S&P 500 futures up 0.3%
- US 10-year yields down 1.3 bps to 4.592%
- Gold down 0.3% to $2,706.01
- WTI flat at $77.87
- Bitcoin up 2.1% to $102,247
It’s a bit of a slower session as the week winds down, with the dollar keeping steadier in general again.
USD/JPY is seen up slightly to 155.70 even as the first BOJ “leak” was out, indicating that traders are well considering a rate hike already for next week. Besides that, there was minimal action among major currencies with the dollar holding flat again at 1.0300 against the euro while marginally higher against the commodity currencies.
The pound was one of the more interesting ones after UK retail sales data for December disappointed. That despite capturing the Black Friday sales and the build up to the holiday period. GBP/USD fell to a low of 1.2159 before picking itself back up now to 1.2200 – still down 0.3% on the day.
In the equities space, European stocks continue to stay buoyed with the DAX at fresh record highs and look set to cap off a stellar week. US futures are also higher, looking to deal with the setback from tech shares yesterday.
In the bond market, yields are still tailing off with 10-year Treasury yields in particular slipping back under 4.60% for the first time since the early stages last week. Have we reached a fresh cycle peak for yields?
In other markets, gold is down slightly but still holding above $2,700 while Bitcoin looks set to hold above six figures as US president Biden wraps up his tenure in the Oval Office.
As a reminder, it will be a long weekend with US markets closed on Monday next week. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone.