Volatility stepped back up in trading yesterday as central bank rate decisions and the return of US traders added some much-needed input after a muted day on Wednesday. The Swiss National Bank cut another 25 basis points and the Bank of England hinted that they might not be far off joining them on the easing cycle pushing both their respective currencies lower.
US stock markets hit fresh highs again before the tech heavy S&P and Nasdaq fell off, however the Dow did hold its ground. The dollar pushed higher and both Oil and Gold continued to add to recent gains.
It should be another lively day in markets today with momentum from the US close likely to see fresh moves in Asia before a raft of key PMI data releases hit the market in the latter half of the day.
| Market | Change | Close |
| Dow | +0.77% | 39,134 |
| S&P | -0.25% | 5,473 |
| Nasdaq | -0.79% | 17,721 |
| USD | +0.4% | 105.64 |
| US Treasury – 2 Year | +2.5 bps | 4.728% |
| US Treasury – 10 Year | +3.5 bps | 4.251% |
| Oil – Brent | +0.75% | $85.71 |
| Oil – WTI | +0.74% | $82.17 |
| Gold | +1.4% | $2,358 |
Today’s Events:
European Session
- 4.00 pm – UK Retail Sales Data
- 5.15 pm – French Flash Manufacturing and Services PMI Data
- 5.30 pm – German Flash Manufacturing and Services PMI Data
- 6.00 pm – UK Flash Manufacturing and Services PMI Data
US Session
- 10.30 pm – Canadian Retail Sales Data
- 11.45 pm – US Flash Manufacturing and Services PMI Data
- 12.00 am – US Existing Home Sales Data
