Currencies

• The euro (EUR) finished Friday on a high note as the single currency rebound from 1.3588 a three month low. The pair rose to 1.3694 before collapsing once again to 1.3619 ahead of today’s European and US PMI manufacturing data releases.

• The US dollar (USD) strengthened against the Japanese yen (JPY) as the pair moves higher above 102.05. The greenback remains on a bullish trajectory ahead of the release of the US manufacturing data released this afternoon.

Equities

• US equities touched a fresh high as the US 500 (SPI) tracking America’s largest corporations reached 1923. At the same time the US 30 (DOW) and US tech (NDQ) moved to 16720 and 3736 respectively. US equity investors will be looking ahead at manufacturing PMI data coming out this afternoon.

Commodities

• Brent crude (BRT), the global oil benchmark, rose to 109.81 in early trading from a previous low of 109.25 late last week. Energy prices start the week on a high pushed by positive signals coming from encouraging Chinese factory data.

Mover & Shaker with FX Options

• Gold (XAU) continues to slide as lower after having reached 1243 in early trading. The precious metal is under increasing pressure as investors are looking at diversifying their portfolios into riskier assets and global equities are at all-time highs.

• Option traders may consider constructing a Bear Put Spread strategy on XAUUSD and gain if the pair continues the downside while the risk is limited to the premium paid.

• A Bear Put Spread can be constructed by purchasing an at-the-money Put and selling an out-of-the-money Put.