Daily Market Review for October 29th 2013
Major Economic Data to keep an eye on:
Make sure to keep track of economic news related to your open positions.
EUR – GFK German Consumer Climate – 8:00 GMT
USD – Core PPI (MoM+YoY) – 13:30 GMT
USD – Core Retail Sales (MoM) – 13:30 GMT
USD – CB Consumer Confidence – 15:00 GMT
Most Asian stocks traded lower during Tuesday’s session as traders in the region appeared pensive ahead of the start of the two-day Federal Reserve meeting later Tuesday.
In Asian trading Tuesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.14%. Earlier Tuesday, Japan’s Statistic Bureau said the country’s unemployment rate fell to 4% last month from 4.1% in August. Economists expected a reading of 4% for September.
The U.S. dollar rose Tuesday ahead of data expected to show some weakness in the economy, while Australia’s dollar headed sharply lower after comments from the nation’s central-bank governor.
The moves came ahead of data on U.S. retail sales and consumer confidence, due later in the day
The Australian dollar dropped to 95.09 U.S. cents, off from late Monday’s 95.80 U.S. cents, after Reserve Bank of Australia Gov. Glenn Stevens talked the currency down during a speech early Tuesday.
Stevens said the Aussie’s current value was too high, sitting at levels “not supported by Australia’s relative levels of costs and productivity.”
“It seems quite likely that at some point in the future the Australian dollar will be materially lower than it is today,” Stevens said.
The top European currencies also lost ground, with the euro falling to $1.3773 from $1.3805 late Monday, while the British pound depreciated to $1.6093 from $1.6155.
The Japanese yen moved higher, however, with the dollar easing to ¥95.09 from ¥95.80. The pair is likely to find support at 96.66, the low of October 7 and resistance at 98.00.
Oil futures traded lower during Tuesday’s Asian session as traders in the region digested some mixed data points out of the U.S. ahead of the start of the two-day Federal Reserve meeting later Tuesday.
Futures for December delivery fell 0.39% to $98.30 per barrel in Asian trading Tuesday. The December contract settled higher by 0.85% at $98.68 per barrel Monday, indicating Tuesday’s decline could be a case of some profit-taking as well.
Gold traded slightly higher early Tuesday. Gold is likely to find support at $1,310 level and resistance at $1,375 which is the high from September 19th
Federal Reserve officials have said in the past they will pay close attention to data before deciding on the fate of stimulus measures. That means the softer U.S. data is, the longer the Fed will resist tapering its USD85 billion-per-month in bond purchases.
While the most recent U.S. data points have not been dreadful, they have been soft enough to convince traders the Fed will make no tapering announcements when it concludes its meeting Wednesday.
Good luck trading!
