Major Economic Data to keep an eye on:
Make sure to keep track of economic news related to your open positions.
GBP – Core Retail Sales (MoM+YoY) – 9:30 GMT
GBP – Retail Sales – 9:30 GMT
USD – FOMC Member Fisher Speaks – 12:45 GMT
CAD – Foreign Securities Purchases – 13:30 GMT
USD – Building Permits – 13:30 GMT
USD – Continuing Jobless Claims – 13:30 GMT
USD – Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index – 15:00 GMT
The moment we were waiting for: ‘Congress votes to end shutdown, lift debt ceiling’.
16 day government shutdown to end. Both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to reopen the government and raise the nation’s borrowing limit, ending a 16-day shutdown that brought the nation close to default.
President Barack Obama praised leaders of both parties after the Senate vote, saying: “We’ll begin reopening our government immediately, and we can begin to lift this cloud of uncertainty and unease from our businesses and from the American people.” Obama signed the bill into law early Thursday, shortly after midnight.
U.S. Stocks (SP500 +1.38%) surged Wednesday on news of the agreement and in advance of the vote. The climb was evidence that investors were breathing sigh of relief.
Wednesday’s advance extended the S&P’s year-to-date gain to 20.7%. The benchmark index ended the session less than nine points below its all-time high of 1729.86.
- S&P 500 +20.7% YTD
- DJIA +17.3% YTD
- Nasdaq +27.2% YTD
The dollar eased lower Thursday after gaining the previous day as U.S. lawmakers reached a deal to avoid default. The U.S dollar index, which tracks the U.S. currency against six rivals, slipped to 80.374.
The dollar’s drop Thursday registered in most major currency pairs, with the euro nudging up to $1.3545 from late Wednesday’s $1.3532, while the British pound rose to $1.5975 from $1.5950.
The Australian dollar inched higher to 95.46 U.S. cents from 95.43 U.S. cents, while the dollar also lost ground against the Japanese yen, easing to ¥98.64 from ¥98.75.
Asian stocks soared during Thursday’s session as U.S policymakers reached the abovementioned agreement. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.07% even as USD/JPY traded lower, but since then the Nikkei has pulled back and turned red with a loss close to 1%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.2%. Traders see reduced probability that Australia will see another interest rate decrease in the near-term.
Gold futures traded higher during Thursday’s Asian session as the U.S. Senate reached a debt deal, and the precious metal is trading at $1,277
WTI – trades slightly lower during Asian’s session despite the news out of the U.S.
The Oil futures inched down to $102 price zone. Oil prices were supported he Federal Reserve reported in its Beige Book, which analyzes current economic conditions, that the U.S. economy expanded at a moderate pace from September into October, though the U.S. central bank said fiscal uncertainty was dampening recovery.
