Financial markets experienced a quieter day on Friday relative to the previous days in what had been a bit of a roller coaster week. Major US indices managed to claw back most of their losses from a dramatic start to the week, but investors are braced for more volatility in the days ahead.
Treasury yields closed mixed, with the 2-year gaining whilst the longer dates continued to pull back, the 10-year back under 4% and the dollar pulled back again, albeit in relatively tight ranges.
Oil prices again pushed higher with Middle East concerns continuing to fuel the move and Gold traded in line with the dollar, closing the day close flat.
It is a relatively quiet start to the week in terms of macroeconomic data releases with just Chinese New Loans data anywhere near a tier 1 release. However, traders will be aware that it was a similar story last week and markets took a battering. Yen traders will kick off the day even more wary (if that is possible) with Japan on a holiday reducing volatility in already sensitive markets.
| Market | Change | Close |
| Dow | +0.13% | 39,497 |
| S&P | +0.47% | 5,344 |
| Nasdaq | +0.51% | 16,745 |
| USD | -0.14% | 103.14 |
| US Treasury – 2 Year | +1.1 bps | 4.055% |
| US Treasury – 10 Year | -5.3 bps | 3.944% |
| Oil – Brent | +0.6% | $79.66 |
| Oil – WTI | +0.9% | $76.84 |
| Gold | Flat | $2,427 |
Today’s Events (AEST):
Asian Session
- Japan – Bank Holiday
- China – New Loans Data
