市场资讯及洞察

随着伊朗冲突的重塑 能源市场,中央银行转为鹰派,尽管混乱不堪,黄金仍处于自由落体状态,2026年的避险手册比以往任何时候都更加复杂。
事实速览
- 尽管中东战争活跃,但黄金已从历史最高水平下跌了20%以上
- 新加坡元兑美元汇率接近自2014年10月以来的最高水平
- 这个 澳大利亚储备银行(RBA) 由于伊朗推动的油价推动澳大利亚通货膨胀率上升,2026年3月将利率上调至4.10%
1。黄金(XAU/USD)
黄金仍然是全球交易最广泛的避风港。它受益于地缘政治压力、美元疲软和负实际利率环境。但是,它在2026年的短期行为需要解释。
尽管中东战争活跃,但黄金仍大幅抛售。可能的原因是美联储下调了2026年的降息预期,理由是生产者通货膨胀率高于预期, 霍尔木兹海峡-油价推动了通货膨胀的持续性。
归根结底,黄金的牛市取决于实际收益率下降和美元疲软,而目前这两个条件都不具备。交易者应意识到,在像伊朗冲突造成的通货膨胀供应冲击中,黄金的表现并不总是如预期。
但是,如果你缩小视野,长期前景将巩固黄金的避险地位,到2025年成为有记录以来最强劲的年份之一。
值得关注的关键变量:美联储指引、实际收益率和美元方向。
2。日元 (JPY)
由于日本是世界上最大的净债权国,日元长期以来一直是避险货币。在压力时期,日本投资者倾向于汇回资本,推动日元走高。
但是,到目前为止,这种动态似乎在2026年发生了变化。日元同比下跌6.63%,接近2024年7月以来的最低水平,石油进口成本的飙升正在打压该货币。
但是,日元的避险作用并未消失。在股票大幅抛售和流动性事件中,它往往会重新站稳脚跟。但是在石油驱动的通胀冲击中,它面临着结构性阻力。
值得关注的关键变量:日本央行的利率决定、美日收益率差异以及日本当局发出的任何干预信号。
3.瑞士法郎 (CHF)
瑞士的政治中立性、账户盈余和强大的机构框架使法郎成为反身避险货币。与日元不同,瑞士法郎在当前环境中保持不变,2026年法郎兑美元汇率上涨,欧元/瑞郎保持稳定。
对于欧洲和中东的交易者来说,瑞士法郎通常是压力事件中的第一停靠港。
值得关注的关键变量:瑞士国家银行的干预语言、欧洲的地缘政治发展和全球风险指数。
4。美国国债 (US10Y)
在正常情况下,美国政府债券是世界上最大、流动性最高的避险工具。但是 2026 年不是正常情况...
收益率一直在上升,而不是下降,这意味着对于任何寻求安全的人来说,债券价格都朝着错误的方向发展。
当避险事件期间收益率上升时,这表明市场将债券视为通货膨胀风险而不是安全资产。
但是,像票据和2年期国债这样的短期国债则是另一回事。与长期债券相比,它们可能提供更高的收入和更低的期限风险,这就是为什么一些投资者在动荡时期更能防御性地使用它们的原因。
值得关注的关键变量:美联储通讯、消费者价格指数和个人消费支出数据,以及10年期国债收益率是否突破4.50%或回落至4.00%以下。
5。澳元兑美元(澳元/美元):反向竞争
澳元被广泛认为是一种风险货币,与全球大宗商品需求和中国的增长密切相关。
在避险环境中,澳元/美元通常会下跌。澳元/美元下跌可以作为更广泛全球压力的主要指标,这对于具有区域风险敞口的交易者来说可能是一个有用的背景。
澳洲联储的加息周期(自2026年初以来两次加息)为澳元提供了一些下限,但在持续的全球避险走势中,这种支撑是有限的。
值得关注的关键变量:澳大利亚央行前瞻性指导、中国采购经理人指数数据、铁矿石价格以及石油对澳大利亚通胀预期的影响。
6。美元指数(DXY)
在急性压力期间,美元充当世界储备货币和反身避风港。当流动性枯竭时,无论潜在趋势如何,全球对美元的需求往往会激增。
在过去的12个月中,由于全球对美国财政轨迹的信心动摇,美元已经下跌。但在过去的一个月中,在鹰派美联储和地缘政治风险上升的支持下,它已经走强。
在避险环境中,美元继续吸引避险资金流动。但是,油价上涨会增加通货膨胀风险,使美联储的政策预期复杂化。
值得关注的关键变量:美联储利率路径、美国通胀数据和全球流动性状况。
7。新加坡元 (SGD)
新加坡元是当前环境中最具弹性的货币之一,在全球范围内鲜为人知,但在整个东南亚都具有很高的相关性。
在避险资金流和投资者被新加坡AAA评级债券、股息密集的股票市场和可预测的政府政策所吸引的支持下,新加坡元已升至接近2014年10月以来的最高水平。
新加坡金融管理局通过名义有效汇率区间而不是利率来管理新加坡元,使其具有与其他避险货币不同的性质。
对于有印尼、马来西亚、泰国、越南和更广泛的东盟地区敞口的交易者来说,美元/新加坡元可以作为区域风险偏好的实用基准。
值得关注的关键变量:新加坡金融管理局的政策区间调整、区域贸易流动以及更广泛的美元/亚洲动态。
8。现金和短期固定收益
有时,最有效的避风港可以简单地减少暴露。由于主要经济体的中央银行利率仍处于较高水平,现金和短期政府债券可以在不受市场风险影响的同时提供可观的收益率。
澳洲联储在3月份的会议上将现金利率提高至4.10%。英格兰银行维持在3.75%,而欧洲央行将其存款便利利率维持在2.00%,主要再融资利率维持在2.15%。 在所有主要经济体中,短期政府票据多年来首次提供了实际回报。
在动荡的环境中,资本保值有时比回报最大化更重要。
值得关注的关键变量:所有主要经济体的中央银行会议日历,以及利率路径前瞻性指导的任何变化。
接下来要看什么
美联储通胀数据。 核心个人消费支出是目前黄金、债券和美元最重要的单一数据点。任何一个方向上的任何惊喜都可能同时移动所有这三个方向。
日元干预风险。 日元接近此前引发日本当局行动的水平。具有亚太地区风险敞口的交易者应密切关注。
澳洲联储的下一步行动。 澳大利亚目前为4.10%,通货膨胀率仍高于目标,问题在于徒步周期是否还有更长的路要走。下一次澳洲联储会议将于5月5日举行。
地缘政治轨迹。 任何缓和中东局势的举措都将迅速减少避险需求,并将资本转回风险资产。反之亦然。
中国的增长信号。 中国复苏强于预期,可能会提振大宗商品货币,降低整个亚太地区的防御地位。
长期镜头
2026年的环境表明,避险资产的有效性取决于 类型 令人震惊,而不仅仅是其严重性。
伊朗冲突造成的通货膨胀供应冲击是传统避风港最困难的环境之一。
随着实际收益率的上升,黄金下跌。随着通货膨胀预期的攀升,债券抛售。随着日本进口成本的飙升,即使是日元也可能贬值。
无论宏观条件如何,都保持着机构信誉、管理框架和充足流动性的资产。瑞士法郎、新加坡元和短期现金工具比目前的黄金或多头债券更符合这种描述。
在2026年,交易者面临的问题不是 “哪个避风港?”它是 “避风港,避开什么?”

Upcoming News » 6:30pm Construction PMI - GBP » No release time, GDT Price Index - NZD As expected the RBA cut interest rates by 25 basis points. The AUDUSD dropped on the news but has retraced most of its drop. The AUDUSD lost 54 pips to.7488, buyers have come back in taking it back above.7500.
The AUS200 lost ground after the disappointing building approvals and trade balance figures. It found some buying support post rates release but is currently still trading lower by 23 points. The USD and JPY have seen quiet trade so far today with small Asain session ranges.
Signs did come in we might be some JPY selling but currently, it’s very choppy with little direction. Tonight I’m looking for weaker opens in Europe with strong selling on the GER30 and UK100 overnight. The UK100 has broken out of a trend channel and is sitting around a support base.
Gold is showing active sellers at 1354 this could come in as short term resistance off 1355. Price is still in a short-term trend up but I would like to see 1354.20 closed above to show a continuation towards 1366 highs. AUDUSD – Considering the negative influences today the AUD has held up very well.
The rate cut took prices down to.7490, this area has shown support and indecision previously. We have seen this area reconfirm today. I’d be paying attention to this level for the near term.
Continued buying could set up a failed low if buying holds out tonight. US30 – Today’s price is sitting on a key short-term level. Overall we have a bearish channel.
The key level 18395 has seen 5 tests holding up so far. To the top, we have a lot of downward pressure. A break lower set’s in new prices not seen since mid-July.
A break above the channel sets up a continuation of the current trend which could offer a buy idea. If we see a break lower, I’d be looking for a test down to 18235. XAUUSD - Gold is showing a normal trend formation with the current retracement not overlapping its previous high. 1355 is showing short-term resistance.
Overall the picture still looks good on the Med term for continued higher prices. I would like to see any short term pull back to find support from 1333 to 1341. A break and close below 1333 could be indicating a lower high is coming in and confirming.
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On 23 rd June 2017, Saudi Arabia and its allies issued a list of demands giving Qatar 10 days to respond to their ultimatum. It has now been just over a month since seven countries announced that they will be cutting all diplomatic ties with the Gulf nation 5 th July saw the leaders of the four countries seeking to isolate the tiny Gulf nation met in Cairo, the capital of Egypt and advised they have received a response from Qatar and will be looking to respond to their response in a timely manner. Here is the full list of the demands put forward by Saudi Arabia and its allies – Limit diplomatic ties with Iran and close their diplomatic missions there Stop all ties with terrorist organisations Shut down the Al Jazeera and its affiliates Shut down news outlets funded by Qatar With immediate effect terminate all Turkish military presence in Qatar and end any joint military cooperation with Turkey inside Qatar Stop all means of funding for individuals, groups or organizations that have been classed as terrorists Hand over all ‘terrorist figures’ and wanted individuals from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain to their countries of origin End interference in sovereign countries internal affairs and stop granting citizenship to wanted national from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain.
Revoke Qatari citizenship for existing nationals where such citizenship violates those countries’ laws Stop all contacts with the political opposition in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain. Hand over all files detailing Qatar's prior contacts with and support for those opposition groups Pay reparations and compensation for loss of life and other, financial losses caused by Qatar's policies in recent years. The sum will be determined in coordination with Qatar Align itself with the other Gulf and Arab countries militarily, politically, socially and economically, as well as on economic matters, in line with an agreement reached with Saudi Arabia in 2014 Agree to all the demands within 10 days of it being submitted to Qatar, or the list becomes invalid.
The document doesn't specify what the countries will do if Qatar refuses to comply Consent to monthly audits for the first year after agreeing to the demands, then once per quarter during the second year. For the following 10 years, Qatar would be monitored annually for compliance [caption id="attachment_57005" align="alignright" width="600"] USOUSD Source Go Markets MT4[/caption] This has had an overall effect on the market, we have seen the oil prices plummet in the recent weeks (red vertical line – the day other countries announced cutting all diplomatic ties with Qatar), of course this is not directly linked with the situation with Qatar as there are other factors that can affect the price of oil. The two major being Geo political risk particularly with what happening in other parts of the Middle East such as Syrian Crisis and global supply and demand (mainly from developing countries).
This may still have an impact on the price as the dialogue with the countries involved continues. Top 30 countries by oil production [caption id="attachment_57007" align="aligncenter" width="447"] Source Wikipedia [/caption] QIG (Qatari Investors Group) [caption id="attachment_57006" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Source Bloomberg [/caption] It’s worth noting that the Qatari stock market lost around 15 billion dollars in market value (10%) since all diplomatic ties were cut off by the other countries involved. By: Klavs Valters GO Markets

Qatar Diplomatic Crisis 5th June 2017 a diplomatic crisis hit Qatar with seven countries. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Egypt Yemen, Libya and the Maldives announced they are cutting all diplomatic ties with Qatar which came as a shock to the rest of the World. Reason? – Saudi Arabia made an announcement via Saudi Press Agency, stating it was taking this step to protect its national security from the dangers of terrorism and extremism and it is believed the rest of the countries have the same reasons for cutting its diplomatic ties with the tiny Gulf nation.
USOUSD Source: GO Markets MT4 Country profile – Qatar Capital: Doha Official language: Arabic Currency: Riyal (QAR) Population: 2,675,522 (2016) GDP total: $353,143 billion Qatar is a member of OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries ) What has happened so far? » The five Arab states have cut off land, air and sea travel to and from Qatar » The Foreign Ministry of Bahrain have issued a statement to order all diplomats to leave Doha within 48 hours and that all Qatari diplomats should leave Bahrain within the same timeframe » All the involved countries have ordered their citizens to leave Qatar » Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates have given Qatari nationals two-week timeframe to leave their countries » Qatar has been expelled from the Saudi led intervention in Yemen » Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have all said they will close their airspace to Qataris national airline – Qatar Airways » All major airlines, including – Emirates, Etihad Airways, Gulf Air, EgyptAir, Air Arabia, Saudi Arabian Airlines and FlyDubai have suspended their flights to and from Qatar » Qatar Airways have also suspended their flight operation to Saudi Arabia Qatar has since responded to the shock announcements and has called the decisions ‘unjustified’. The statement reads ‘The measures are unjustified and are based on claims and allegations that have no basis in fact’ and it added that the decision will ‘not affect the normal lives of citizens and residents’. The impact It is still too early to see what the effect the diplomatic crisis with have on Qatar’s economy, but since the announcement was made the oil prices moved lower, raising further uncertainty about the oil productions in the Middle East.
Oil prices have dropped more than 4% in the last week, the largest decline since early May. USOUSD Source: GO Markets MT4 Another concern for Qatar is the border, the only way in by land is the border with Saudi Arabia. Every day there are hundreds of lorries which cross the border to supply Qatar with different supplies and one of the main supplies is food, in fact around 40% of Qatar’s food supplies is believed to come via this route, so it is a big concern for Qatar.
It is worth keeping up with further developments in this matter as it could have an impact in the oil markets. -By Klavs Valters GO Markets

Annihilation of the Yen It was the year 2013. Some interesting events took place that caused some reverberations in global markets. The once one booming city of Detroit (known for its car manufacturing) filed for bankruptcy and the US government shutdown for almost two weeks.
But the most significant story was the fall of the Japanese currency against all its major counterparts. A dangerous climb In 2013 the value of the Yen fell 21% against the US dollar, making it the most sizeable yearly gain against the Asian currency since 1979. Whenever a currency pair rises or falls this quickly, traders have a tendency to become complacent and think it will continue regardless.
If we’re looking for an analogy, we can view the rise of the US dollar and other currencies to lofty heights against the Yen as something similar to an inexperienced or over-zealous climber attempting to reach the top, but failing to plan for future events and construct a safe passage back down. Resurrection of the Yen Despite the Japanese government’s best efforts – adopting negative interest rates and championing an aggressive stance to help weaken their currency – the Yen has gained both in strength and popularity in 2016. And this is creating some significant moves in the FX world.
Before we discuss the technical side of the charts, it is worth noting that all the Japanese pairs mentioned are currently following a bearish resistance line (BR) or downtrend according to the latest point and figure analysis. Finding 300+ pip moves In the previous newsletter introducing point and figure, we discussed why this method is an excellent tool for locating key areas of support and resistance. The recurring Yen pattern we’ve identified here was discovered using point and figure.
It suggests some long-term moves that could be over 300+ pips in total. The freefall pattern The pattern itself if is quite simple. It appears as if the sharpest JPY declines of 2013 are now becoming the largest JPY rallies of 2016.
Consider the climbing analogy, the latest price swings and resulting patterns are the climbing equivalent of forgetting to place anchors in the cliff face in preparation for the abseil back down. When we study the charts, there are simply no immediate signs of support or footholds that the pairs can target leaving them vulnerable to a potential freefall. As the same pattern is discussed over multiple pairs, we can analyse this into three sections: » Completed » In-progress » Emerging.
Completed Pattern - CADJPY Click to enlarge In a previous CADJPY article, we discussed the importance of the triple bottom located at the 90.00 level and the distinct lack of support below. This is the first example of the pattern of what might happen to some of these JPY pairs once key support levels are breached. No doubt the pressure of global oil prices on the Canadian dollar helped accelerate this move.
As we can see from the chart above, the CADJPY fell to our longer-term target of 80.50 before finding adequate support. The pattern almost resembles a window where price drops significantly to the previous level of demand. This pair may be consolidating now, especially looking at the most recent price action.
While the key level of 80.50 may continue to act as a strong support, resistance to the upside appears to be located at 84.00 and 86.50. In-progress pattern – USDJPY, GBPJPY USDJPY Click to enlarge We also discussed the latest USDJPY move in a recent article and currently we have a longer-term target price of 109.50. Clearly the break of the spread triple bottom at 116.50 was when this pattern activated and the price dropped from 116.50 down to 112.50 creating a 400 pip move.
The pair has since recovered but the main point to take note of is the recent change from an uptrend following a bullish support line (BS) to a downtrend following a bearish resistance line (BR). The level of 114.50 has established as short-term resistance and above here 116.50 may attempt to cap any bullish plays. GBPJPY Click to enlarge Similar to the USDJPY pair, we can see the pattern is in progress here with a downside target of 159.00 where a previous triple top is found.
The trigger point for this move was when the price broke through the spread double bottom at 165.00. Certainly one of the weakest currencies at the time of writing, the Pound has been one of the worst affected by the sudden surge in strength of the Yen. With the looming threat of a ‘Brexit’ (Britain exiting the Euro zone) towards the end of June this year, things may end up going from bad to worse for the GBPJPY pair.
Emerging pattern– EURJPY, NZDJPY, AUDJPY EURJPY Click to enlarge The last group, which we believe has the potential to move in similar fashion to the completed CADJPY pair, is sitting around key support levels which are beginning to look slightly exposed to the downside. The EURJPY has recently produced a sell signal after breaching the 125.50 level. If we look at the chart, there appears to be a glimmer of support around 124.00, but a longer-term target of 120.00 would be the more obvious choice.
The pair has had a rocky road on the way down so far perhaps this would be one of the most stable shifts down if the pattern continued. NZDJPY Click to enlarge The potential NZDJPY setup looks to be one of the cleanest examples of this freefall window pattern. During the past couple of weeks, price action has danced around the key support level 75.00 which is also a spread double bottom.
If this area fails to hold, the next longer-term support and initial target would be 69.00 at this stage. AUDJPY Click to enlarge Although closely related to the NZDJPY pair, the Australian counterpart AUDJPY doesn’t seem to belong to this group. Of course, the potential is still clearly visible on the chart between the levels of 80.00 and 75.00, but the Australian dollar may be more resilient based on recent events and previous price action.
In summary, the pattern itself is not unique. If you follow point and figure, you will notice similar setups on various trading products from time to time. What makes it interesting is that it appears to be happening on nearly all the Yen pairs simultaneously.
The completed pattern on the CADJPY went directly to the nearest support which was almost a thousand pips away. But do not be fooled by the process. Remember these are generally long-term set-ups and without any obvious signs of support, the market may gravitate towards round numbers with psychological importance or become less reliable in general.
There is also an alternate scenario whereby the Yen finds a bottom at current market levels and some of these key areas of support hold, perhaps providing a springboard for price action in the coming months. This also could present an opportunity to find some reasonable risk/reward trades. If you would like to keep up-to-date follow on Twitter or through the GO Markets technical analysis section.
The opinions and information conveyed in the GO Markets newsletter are the views of the author and are not designed to constitute advice. Trading Forex and CFD's is high risk. Adam Taylor | Senior Analyst Adam Taylor joined the GO Markets' team in early 2013 and has gone on to become a valued analyst on our Research and Trading team.
Adam's key strength lies in his technical analysis skills, perhaps honed over his time as a Champion Chess player for his native Scotland. While Adam's primary role is concentrated towards risk management for GO Markets, he's a regular contributor to our News and Analysis team, using the highly regarded but rarely used, point and figure method. Connect with Adam: Twitter | Email | Adam's posts

Post Fed Rate Hike March 15 th 2017 - The United States Federal Reserve (Fed) raised borrowing costs for the third time since the end of the financial crisis. An event so widely predicted that Bloomberg's World Interest Rate Probability was pegged at close to 100%. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decided to increase the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to a target range of 0.75-1.00%.
During the announcement, FOMC cited continued progress towards achieving maximum employment and inflation of 2% for raising rates. Jobs gains have been “solid” and household spending continues to grow “moderately.” They are predicting increasing rates a total of three times this year. President Trump has been vehemently against a strong dollar; we may see more of him pressing for a weaker dollar as he believes this will increase exports.
Below are the dates of the remaining FOMC meetings this year. May 3nd -- June 14th -- July 26th -- September 20th -- November 1st -- December 13th EURUSD We have seen a steady decline in the value of the Euro over the last several years, culminating in a 10 year low the first days of 2017. The weeks leading up to the official announcement experienced a small slump.
Once the announcement was made and the outcome was as expected we didn’t see much of an impact. Rather, the Euro strengthened on the results of the closely watched Dutch elections. The Populist Anti-EU Party of Freedom fared less well than polls had predicted.
All eyes are on the French Elections starting next month. Source: GO MarketsMT4 GBPUSD In the weeks leading to the announcement we saw the dollar pricing in the expected outcome of the Fed. Since the announcement increased bets that the Bank of England will start tightening policy as early as next year has seen Sterling slowly rising.
In the coming months, lingering Brexit and political uncertainty across Europe will keep Sterling saved on our Watchlists. Source: GO MarketsMT4 USDJPY The Yen has recovered substantially from the Summer 2016 lows. The weeks leading to the March 15 th announcement we saw the Japanese Yen stumbling to the lowest level since January 20 th.
There has been a gradual recovery since. It will be interesting to see the if the BOJ’s bonds (JGBs) purchase plan will have a lasting impact on the Yen. Source: GO MarketsMT4 USDCAD The Canadian dollar has recovered significantly since the USD/CAD reaching a 13 year high in January 2016.
Pre-announcement we saw a three-month low in Canadian dollar value. The Loonie has experienced a small bounce back since. Looking further, the price action in Oil is expected to play a considerable part for the sixth largest oil exporter.
Source: GO MarketsMT4 S&P500 The S&P500 continues it’s astronomic rise. The buildup to the FOMC meeting saw the index grow to records heights. For how long will the bulls last with continued whispers of an imminent correction or will we see 2500 this year?
Source: GoMarketsMT4

By Deepta Bolaky STOCK MARKETS After a stellar year for the stock markets, investors were entertaining the idea that equities will outperform in 2018 even though a correction above 15% was expected at some point. The U.S equity markets showed impressive strength in 2017 without experiencing the major pullbacks that often accompany rallies. The rally in the stock markets was mostly driven by global economic growth and impressive corporate profits.
However, in February 2018, the CBOE Volatility Index jumped to 37.32 and there was a massive sell-off in the equity markets. There was no fundamental driver behind the sharp fall, but the slide started as investors panicked over a number of issues: S economic growth and rising interest rates Trade policy and protectionism measures Geopolitical risks For the first half of the year, the EMEA region were in a sea of red while the S&P500, Nasdaq Composite and ASX200 stayed in the black backed by technological shares as investors were battling with two main challenges, namely trade uncertainties and interest rates. World Equity - % Change in 6 months (Before the implementation of tariffs) Each headline on trade tariffs were moving the stock markets, driving“panic selling” or the selling associated with the “risk of higher costs related to tariffs”.
During these past couple of months, trade uncertainties and geopolitical risks have been weighing on the overall market sentiment, but the Asian and European stocks took a greater hit. Chinese stocks have emerged as the biggest losers and have even moved into a bear market. As soon as tariffs and counter-tariffs became a reality, weeks of volatility in the stock markets receded.
Investors appear to have come to terms with the situation and risk sentiment has improved. As of writing, we can see that the stock markets are trending in positive territory. World Equity - % Change in 6 months (after the implementation of tariffs) Trade tensions in the market were unpredictable and even though investors are wary, its effects on the equity markets might not be long lasting.
In the third quarter, we may see investors trimming some of their equity exposure if trade tensions escalate. This trimming could also be encouraged by what we called the “summertime” on Wall Street. Stocks with stronger future growth projections like the technology shares will most likely stay in high demand in the second half of the year 2018.
However, performance of US stocks could be capped with the trade retaliatory responses from other countries. Aside from trade-related concerns, strong earnings expectations at the beginning of the third quarter may drive the equity markets higher. Short-term traders should probably stay cautious and watch for warning signs that could cause a sudden change in direction.
Trade tariff-affected sectors such as the automobile and commodities stocks, together with Chinese stocks, will likely stay under pressure as it is difficult for market participants to see an immediate end to the US-Sino trade tariffs. Investors should also keep an eye on the approach adopted by companies during the earnings season. Long-term traders can be more strategic and look for market dips for buying opportunities.
Interest rates will be a key driver to watch. An old stock market saying has resurfaced: “Bull markets do not die of old age, but are killed off by the US Federal Reserve” CURRENCY MARKETS The US dollar gained impressively in the second quarter against G10 currencies. This growth of the greenback can be attributed to the following drivers: The strength of the US economy compared to other developed markets; and A hawkish Fed compared to the other central banks.
Recent job reports were also strong enough for markets to anticipate another potential rate hike in September but without the acceleration in wage growth, a fourth hike looks less likely. The upcoming CPI figures will provide more insights on the path of interest rate. On the technical side, analysts see the strength in the US dollar since mid-April as a reversion.
When RSI approaches 40, it is normally used as “a buy signal” which has helped the greenback to bounce back. This particular situation is similar to the one that had occurred back in July 2014. Both the fundamental and technical sides provided support to the US dollar’s bullish momentum.
A hawkish Fed is calling for a higher dollar but it is important to note that the dollar is navigating through a difficult global environment. The drop in US Consumer Sentiment Index and Economic Optimism in June shows that consumer confidence has taken a hit despite a strong US economy. Unlike the bullish USD, the Euro has been under pressure due to the ongoing political turmoil in Europe that is threatening the unity of the European bloc.
The ECB’s dovish view, US trade tariffs on European cars, and slower growth have undermined the recovery of the EUR. British Pound is also facing the same fate with growing uncertainties around Brexit. Despite strong economic data and a hawkish BoE, the local currency is unable to sustain gains, due to Brexit jitters.
If Theresa May manages to push through the soft Brexit deal, the Pound might recover a semblance of normality. However, now that the implementation of the tariffs has become a reality, we have seen that investors are coming to terms with the situation and the “panic-selling” has scaled down. The wave of optimism is being felt across both the equity and currency markets.
For instance, the performance of the US dollar in the second quarter compared to the start of the third quarter is significantly opposite. Similarly, the Euro has seen a slight improvement and has appreciated against more pairs within the G10 currencies since we stepped into Q3. The British Pound also found some support at the beginning of this quarter compared to the previous one.
Recently, some ECB policy makers have expressed their views that they support an interest rate hike earlier than projected. In the UK, strong data is also supporting an August hike. This might help to bridge the gap between European central banks and the Fed.
Currently, both EUR and GBP pairs are finding short-term buyers as the risks on the political front are undermining their performance. As political tensions recede, we can see those currencies emerging slightly stronger against the US dollar. Investors might want to keep monitoring data to see if there is a pick in the Eurozone area and in the UK to help form buying positions.
From a global perspective, we can see that countries affected by tariffs are seeking unity among themselves against the US. Such retaliatory measures might bring more volatility in the markets in the coming weeks.
