English 
Dutch - Nederlands
French - Français
German - Deutsch
Greek - Ελληνικά
Hungarian - Magyar
Italian - Italiano
Polish - Polski
Spanish - Español
Get in touch
- Home
- Getting Started
Get in touch
15/04/2024 - 08:22 UTCThe dollar posted another moderate increase against most major currencies on Friday, with the dollar index (USDX) gaining approximately 1.67% on the weekly chart, supported by its safe haven properties, following Iran’s large-scale missile and drone strike against Israel. According to reports, the damage from the strikes was minimal, with Iran signalling the end of its attack against Israel. Israeli ministers also reportedly said that they were not considering an immediate retaliation.
The impact on interest rate expectations was not evident following the recent turn of events in the Middle East as CME Group's FedWatch tool indicated bets for the first cut to occur in June remain close to 20%.
In other news, the two main crude oil benchmarks WTI and Brent initiated a decline despite escalating tensions between Iran and Israel, trading lower by 0.82% and 0.94% respectively as at 07:23 AM GMT on Monday. Iran's attack involved more than 300 missiles and drones and was the first on Israel from another country in more than three decades, raising concerns about a broader conflict affecting oil distribution in the Middle East.
In Wall Street, sentiment was negative over the past week, as expectations for early U.S. cuts faded away due to hawkish remarks from Fed officials and sticky inflation data, thus weighing heavily on equities. Concerns over a wider conflict in the Middle East will likely be in focus for stock markets this week along with several earnings reports among which are Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Johnson & Johnson, while UnitedHealth Group Incorporated, Bank of America Corp and Morgan Stanley.
The cryptos front seems largely affected by the Iran-Israel geopolitical tensions, with declines seen in Bitcoin and Ethereum and even larger collapses observed in small and mid-cap cryptos with the overall market cap standing at 2.54 trillion.
Market focus for today shifts to the Empire State Manufacturing, and core Retail Sales numbers while FOMC Member Williams speaks later in the day.
The EUR/USD pair posted a sharp decline on Friday ending the session 0.82% lower, crushed by the combination of a hawkish Federal Reserve and a dovish European Central Bank. The pair has lost nearly 2% in the last three days of the week and closed its worst weekly performance in more than one year.
The ECB left rates unchanged, as some committee members were in favour of a rate cut. This, and the dovish tilt on the monetary statement has boosted expectations that the bank will start easing its monetary policy soon. The Fed is in an opposite direction, as the shock of the US inflation and the strong macroeconomic data is forcing the bank to dial down its monetary easing plans.
Investors turn their focus on the release of U.S retail sales along with Business inventories and the New York Empire State Manufacturing Index. Moreover, the Industrial production in the Euro area is due today.
Gold prices rose above $2,400 per ounce to an all-time high on Friday, as growing tensions in the Middle East prompted investors to seek refuge in the safe-haven assets although strength in the dollar limited major gains in the yellow metal.
Over the weekend a drone and missile strike by Iran against Israel supported gold prices and markets also waiting to see just how Israel would respond to Iran’s strike, given that the attack caused limited damage, and that Tehran also said the move concluded its offensive against Israel. This helped limit some safe haven demand.
Oil rose on Friday on geopolitical tensions in the Middle East but posted a weekly loss on a bearish world oil demand growth forecast from the International Energy Agency (IEA) and worries about slower U.S. interest rate cuts.
Iran launched a wave of missile and drone strikes against Israel over the weekend, retaliating for an alleged attack on an embassy in Syria. Israel’s response to the attack is now expected to determine just how the conflict will play out, and whether it could spill over into the broader Middle East region.
U.S. stocks dropped on Friday after major U.S. banks' results failed to impress, capping a week marked by market-moving inflation data, evolving expectations for U.S. Federal Reserve policy, and looming geopolitical tensions.
All three major indexes fell more than 1% with US 500 ending the session 1.46% lower while US 30 and US Tech 100 lost 1.37% and 1.68% respectively and also registered losses on the week.
JPMorgan Chase & Co, the biggest U.S. bank by assets, posted a 6% profit increase but its net interest income forecast fell short of expectations.Wells Fargo & Co's stock inched lower after profits fell 7% as net interest income dropped on weak borrowing demand. Citigroup Inc, meanwhile, fell more than 2% despite reporting quarterly results that beat on both the top and bottom lines amid signs that turnaround efforts are bearing fruit.
The materials contained on this document should not in any way be construed, either explicitly or implicitly, directly or indirectly, as investment advice, recommendation or suggestion of an investment strategy with respect to a financial instrument, in any manner whatsoever. Any indication of past performance or simulated past performance included in this document is not a reliable indicator of future results. For the full disclaimer click here.
By