Tension over Ukraine escalated once again yesterday. Ukrainian police regained control of a government building previously occupied by pro-Russian protestors in Ukraine. Russian police responded by threatening that their actions could result in a civil war. This brought uncertainty back to the markets and resulted in a day of choppy trade. U.S. stocks climbed as technology shares including Google, Facebook and EBay rallied. The S&P 500 moved back above its key technical level of 1,850, gaining 0.38% and the Dow Jones gained 0.06%. The Nasdaq rebounded from its worst drop since 2011 and gained 0.81%. Investors should focus on company earnings reports this week including releases from JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. Asian stocks outside of Japan rose, still benefiting from additional stimulus being introduced in China. The Hang Seng gained 0.85%. The Nikkei declined 2.1% as the Yen strengthened the most against the U.S. Dollar since August due to geopolitical tension and also following news that the Bank of Japan left its monetary policy unchanged and dismissed worries over the higher tax. The Dollar lost 1.2% against the Yen trading at ¥101.96 compared with ¥101.63. European stocks started the day higher after the IMF stated yesterday that the ECB will consider quantitative easing and could begin buying bonds in the next few months.
WTI Crude is climbing and is currently trading above $102/barrel. Tension in Ukraine and the falling U.S. Dollar are pushing prices higher. The EIA also cut its U.S. crude production estimate for this year to 8.37 million barrels per day as well as lowering its 2015 output estimate to 9.13 million barrels per day. Gold is also heading higher as tension in Ukraine is pushing people to invest in safe haven assets. Attention will now turn to the Fed Meeting Minutes being released later today. The Federal Reserve are releasing the minutes of their March 18-19 meeting at 6pm GMT and traders will be looking for clues on the future direction of monetary policy including the pace of tapering and potential interest rate changes.
Today’s Main Events:
08.30 GMT: GBP – Trade Balance – measures the difference in value between imported and exported goods and services over the reported period.
18.00 GMT: USD – FOMC Meeting Minutes – a detailed record of the committee’s policy-setting meeting held about two weeks earlier.
23.00 GMT: USD – FOMC Member Tarullo Speaks – Due to speak about stabilizing financial systems for growth and full employment at the Hyman P Minsky Conference, in Washington DC
23.00 GMT: GBP – RICS House Price Balance – measures the percentage of surveyors reporting a house price increase in their designated area.
April 9, 2014 – Daily Market News
Today’s Hot Assets: USD, GBP
Tension over Ukraine escalated once again yesterday. Ukrainian police regained control of a government building previously occupied by pro-Russian protestors in Ukraine. Russian police responded by threatening that their actions could result in a civil war. This brought uncertainty back to the markets and resulted in a day of choppy trade. U.S. stocks climbed as technology shares including Google, Facebook and EBay rallied. The S&P 500 moved back above its key technical level of 1,850, gaining 0.38% and the Dow Jones gained 0.06%. The Nasdaq rebounded from its worst drop since 2011 and gained 0.81%. Investors should focus on company earnings reports this week including releases from JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. Asian stocks outside of Japan rose, still benefiting from additional stimulus being introduced in China. The Hang Seng gained 0.85%. The Nikkei declined 2.1% as the Yen strengthened the most against the U.S. Dollar since August due to geopolitical tension and also following news that the Bank of Japan left its monetary policy unchanged and dismissed worries over the higher tax. The Dollar lost 1.2% against the Yen trading at ¥101.96 compared with ¥101.63. European stocks started the day higher after the IMF stated yesterday that the ECB will consider quantitative easing and could begin buying bonds in the next few months.
WTI Crude is climbing and is currently trading above $102/barrel. Tension in Ukraine and the falling U.S. Dollar are pushing prices higher. The EIA also cut its U.S. crude production estimate for this year to 8.37 million barrels per day as well as lowering its 2015 output estimate to 9.13 million barrels per day. Gold is also heading higher as tension in Ukraine is pushing people to invest in safe haven assets. Attention will now turn to the Fed Meeting Minutes being released later today. The Federal Reserve are releasing the minutes of their March 18-19 meeting at 6pm GMT and traders will be looking for clues on the future direction of monetary policy including the pace of tapering and potential interest rate changes.
Today’s Main Events:
08.30 GMT: GBP – Trade Balance – measures the difference in value between imported and exported goods and services over the reported period.
18.00 GMT: USD – FOMC Meeting Minutes – a detailed record of the committee’s policy-setting meeting held about two weeks earlier.
23.00 GMT: USD – FOMC Member Tarullo Speaks – Due to speak about stabilizing financial systems for growth and full employment at the Hyman P Minsky Conference, in Washington DC
23.00 GMT: GBP – RICS House Price Balance – measures the percentage of surveyors reporting a house price increase in their designated area.
Related Posts: