Janet Yellen, the new Head of the Federal Reserve, gave her second testimony before the Senate Banking Committee in Washington. She maintained her previous stance on monetary policy and reiterated comments made before. She also said that it is too soon to know for sure what impact recent cold weather had on the latest disappointing economic data and so for now without any significant change in the outlook of the economy tapering will continue. Overall her comments were dovish and she maintained an accommodative stance causing US stocks to rally. After attempts throughout the week, the S&P 500 finally reached a new record closing 0.49% higher above the key 1850 technical level. The Dow Jones closed 0.46% higher and the NASDAQ closed 0.6% higher at its highest level since April 2000. The Asian session finished mixed. Despite the release of positive data, the Nikkei lost 0.55% as the Yen gained against the US Dollar. Traders turned to safe haven assets following the political situation in Ukraine; if a confrontation occurs between Russia and the West over Ukraine it could lead to a pullback in global equity markets. The Hang Seng closed with little change gaining 0.05%. European markets have opened mixed as investors digest both comments from Yellen and the situation in Ukraine. Traders should watch data being released later in the day including European CPI at 10am (GMT).
WTI Crude is trading choppy in the face of mixed data. US Core Durable Goods Orders came out better than expected; however, Initial Jobless Claims disappointed the market and were higher than expected. Earlier in the week U.S. crude supplies were lower than expected but distillate stockpiles rose surprisingly. Traders are also surveying the political situation in Ukraine. Gold increased following Yellens dovish comments but failed to hold its gains and is now trading choppy. The political situation in Ukraine could provide some support for the metal as it acts as a traditional haven in times of international turmoil. Commodity traders should watch US data being released later in the day including US GDP at 1.30pm (GMT) and Pending Home Sales at 3pm (GMT).
Today’s Main Events:
10.00 GMT: EUR – CPI – measures the change in the price of goods and services from the perspective of the consumer. It is a key way to measure changes in purchasing trends and inflation.
10.00 GMT: USD – FOMC Member Fisher Speaks – Due to speak about monetary policy at the Swiss National Bank, in Zurich.
13.30 GMT: CAD – GDP – measures the annualized change in the inflation-adjusted value of all goods and services produced by the economy
13.30 GMT: USD – GDP – measures the annualized change in the inflation-adjusted value of all goods and services produced by the economy
15.00 GMT: USD – Pending Home Sales – measures the change in the number of homes under contract to be sold but still awaiting the closing transaction, excluding new construction.
15.15 GMT: USD – FOMC Member Stein Speaks – Due to participate in a panel discussion about interaction between monetary policy and financial stability, in New York
15.30 GMT: GBP – BoE Gov Carney Speaks -Due to participate in a panel discussion at the Symposium on Financial Stability and the Role of Central Bankers, in Frankfurt
February 28, 2014 – Daily Market News
Today’s Hot Assets: USD, EUR, CAD, GBP
Janet Yellen, the new Head of the Federal Reserve, gave her second testimony before the Senate Banking Committee in Washington. She maintained her previous stance on monetary policy and reiterated comments made before. She also said that it is too soon to know for sure what impact recent cold weather had on the latest disappointing economic data and so for now without any significant change in the outlook of the economy tapering will continue. Overall her comments were dovish and she maintained an accommodative stance causing US stocks to rally. After attempts throughout the week, the S&P 500 finally reached a new record closing 0.49% higher above the key 1850 technical level. The Dow Jones closed 0.46% higher and the NASDAQ closed 0.6% higher at its highest level since April 2000. The Asian session finished mixed. Despite the release of positive data, the Nikkei lost 0.55% as the Yen gained against the US Dollar. Traders turned to safe haven assets following the political situation in Ukraine; if a confrontation occurs between Russia and the West over Ukraine it could lead to a pullback in global equity markets. The Hang Seng closed with little change gaining 0.05%. European markets have opened mixed as investors digest both comments from Yellen and the situation in Ukraine. Traders should watch data being released later in the day including European CPI at 10am (GMT).
WTI Crude is trading choppy in the face of mixed data. US Core Durable Goods Orders came out better than expected; however, Initial Jobless Claims disappointed the market and were higher than expected. Earlier in the week U.S. crude supplies were lower than expected but distillate stockpiles rose surprisingly. Traders are also surveying the political situation in Ukraine. Gold increased following Yellens dovish comments but failed to hold its gains and is now trading choppy. The political situation in Ukraine could provide some support for the metal as it acts as a traditional haven in times of international turmoil. Commodity traders should watch US data being released later in the day including US GDP at 1.30pm (GMT) and Pending Home Sales at 3pm (GMT).
Today’s Main Events:
10.00 GMT: EUR – CPI – measures the change in the price of goods and services from the perspective of the consumer. It is a key way to measure changes in purchasing trends and inflation.
10.00 GMT: USD – FOMC Member Fisher Speaks – Due to speak about monetary policy at the Swiss National Bank, in Zurich.
13.30 GMT: CAD – GDP – measures the annualized change in the inflation-adjusted value of all goods and services produced by the economy
13.30 GMT: USD – GDP – measures the annualized change in the inflation-adjusted value of all goods and services produced by the economy
15.00 GMT: USD – Pending Home Sales – measures the change in the number of homes under contract to be sold but still awaiting the closing transaction, excluding new construction.
15.15 GMT: USD – FOMC Member Stein Speaks – Due to participate in a panel discussion about interaction between monetary policy and financial stability, in New York
15.30 GMT: GBP – BoE Gov Carney Speaks -Due to participate in a panel discussion at the Symposium on Financial Stability and the Role of Central Bankers, in Frankfurt
Related Posts: