市場新聞與洞察

Last week marked a significant milestone for NIO when it produced its 100,000 th electric vehicle. The latest development also caught the eye of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, to which he responded: ''Congrats to NIO. That is a tough milestone.'' On Thursday, NIO officially confirmed its partnership with Sinopec – taking a major step forward in the company’s future.

Rumours about a potential partnership between the two companies first emerged back in February, when Sinopec Chairman Zhang Yuzhuo visited NIO’s battery swap station. About Sinopec Sinopec is the largest supplier of refined oil products and petrochemicals as well as the second-largest oil and gas producer in China. It was founded on 25 th February 2000 in Beijing, China and has over 240,000 employees globally.

The company has more than 30,000 gas stations – second highest in the world. The partnership NIO’s statement on the partnership: ''The partnership between Sinopec and NIO is an important milestone for further developing China's smart EV industry, a concrete measure to help achieve peak carbon emissions and achieve carbon neutrality, a key step in developing global, green, and innovative transportation initiatives and innovations.'' Following the announcement, NIO and Sinopec also unveiled the NIO Power Swap Station 2.0 at Sinopec's Chaoying Station in Beijing, China. The share price of NIO has taken a hit in recent months after reaching record highs back in February when it climbed above $60 per share.

It was down by around 5% on Thursday following the announcement, trading at around $34 per share. Worth noting that it was trading at $3.20 per share same time last year, a 995% increase at the current share price. NIO Source: TradingView You can trade NIO (NIO) and many other stocks from the ASX, NYSE, and the NASDAQ with GO Markets as a Share CFD.

Click here for more information. Trading Derivatives carries a high level of risk.

JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs reported their Q1 earnings before the opening bell on Wednesday – both beating analysts' forecasts. JP Morgan & Co JPMorgan reported a total revenue of $32.3 billion (up by 14.3% year-on-year) in Q1, above analysts' forecast of $30.52 billion. Earnings per share were reported at $4.50 vs. $3.05 estimate.

Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO, commented on Q1 results: ''JPMorgan Chase earned $14.3 billion in net income reflecting strong underlying performance across our businesses, partially driven by a rapidly improving economy. These results include a benefit from credit reserve releases of $5.2 billion that we do not consider core or recurring profits. We believe our credit reserves of $26 billion are appropriate and prudent, all things considered.'' ''With all of the stimulus spending, potential infrastructure spending, continued Quantitative Easing, strong consumer and business balance sheets and euphoria around the potential end of the pandemic, we believe that the economy has the potential to have extremely robust, multi-year growth.

This growth can benefit all Americans, particularly those who suffered the most during this pandemic. If all of the government programs are spent wisely and efficiently, focusing on actual outcomes, the benefits will be more widely shared, economic growth will be more sustainable and future problems, like inflation and too much debt, will be reduced.'' Shares of JPMorgan were down by around 1.19% in pre-market on Wednesday following the latest earnings numbers, trading at around $152.23. The share price is up by around 22% year-to-date.

JPMorgan Chase & Co Source: TradingView Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs also reported strong numbers with revenue of $17.7 billion (up by 102.5% year-on-year) in Q1, way higher than analysts' estimate of $12.6 billion. Earnings per share at $18.60, above the forecast of $10.22 per share. ''We have been working hard alongside our clients in preparation for a world beyond the pandemic and a more stable economic environment,'' Goldman Sachs CEO, David Solomon said in the earnings release. ''Our businesses remain very well positioned to help our clients reposition for the recovery, and that strength is reflected in the record revenues and earnings achieved this quarter.'' Goldman Sachs The share price of Goldman Sachs trading higher after the Q1 results, up by around 4% at $343 per share. The stock is up by 30% year-to-date.

Source: TradingView You can trade JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM), Goldman Sachs (GS) and many other stocks from the NYSE, NASDAQ and the ASX with GO Markets as a Share CFD. Click here for more information. Trading Derivatives carries a high level of risk.

Market response to any specific economic data release is far from standard even if actual numbers differ greatly from consensus expectations. Rather the market response is based on context of the current economic situation. This week’s non-farm payrolls, being one of the major data points in the month, is a great case in point.

There are many factors and of course the key one for you as an individual trader is your chosen vehicle you are trading (and of course direction i.e. long or short for open positions). The context of today’s impending non-farm payrolls from a market perspective is interest rate expectations going forward. This week the Fed gave the market the expected.25% cut that was already priced into currency, bond and equity market pricing.

The market response however, as this was already priced in, was as a result of the accompanying statement which was not as dovish as perhaps anticipated and a reduction in expectations of a further imminent cut. From an equity market point of view the result, despite the interest rate cut, was to sell off, whereas from the USD perspective this lessening expectation of further rate cuts was bullish. Perhaps this could be viewed as contrary to what the textbooks would suggest is a standard response.

So, onto todays non-farm payrolls (NFP) figure… Logic would suggest that a strong number is good news for the economy, and so should be positive for equities and perhaps bearish for USD. However, as this may be a critical number in the Feds decision making re. interest rate decisions, a strong NFP is likely to have the opposite effect. A weaker number is likely to be perceived as potentially contributory to thinking that another rate cut may be prudent sooner and so despite on the surface being “bad news”, it would not be surprising to see equities stronger and USD weaker.

It remains to be seen of course what the number is and the actual response but is perhaps a lesson in seeing new market information within the potential context of the current economic circumstances and of course incorporate this in your risk assessment and trading decision making.

It has been an eventful week over in the United States this week. Some of the major companies, including Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, and Tesla announced their latest earnings. The Federal Reserve kept their interest rates unchanged at 0.25%.

We also saw the US GDP expand by 4% in Q4 of 2020. However, these were not the most talked-about events this week. Major hedge-funds on Wall Street were left with huge losses after it bet against a struggling American gaming company GameStop by short-selling its shares.

What is short-selling? Short-selling is when an investor speculates that a stock or security will fall in price in the future. The investor borrows the stock or security from a broker and immediately sells it with the hope of buying it back at a lower price.

Gains from short selling are limited as a stock can only go to 0. The losses do not have a cap as there is no limit as to how high a stock’s price may jump. What happened?

The ''short'' bet did not pay off for the big players on Wall Street after amateur traders rallied together on social media sites to take on the hedge-funds and pump the price of gaming retailer GameStop to new levels. The share price of the GameStop has surged by over 1,550% this year alone after trading at $17 at the beginning of January. The stock ended the trading day at the $193 level on Thursday, rising up to the $261 level in post-market hours.

The White House said it was ''monitoring'' the latest price surge in GameStop and other stocks. Hedge-funds and others that bet against GameStop have collectively lost more than $5bn, according to data analytics company S3. Source: TradingView It is an interesting time on Wall Street and it is definitely worth keeping an eye on the future developments moving forward.

One of the must-watch economic events this week will be the Bank of Canada interest rate decision. The decision is scheduled to be announced on Wednesday at 14:00 PM London time. It will be the first meeting since the new United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA).

The bank has increased its interest rates four times since July of last year, so will there be another hike? Why Is The Announcement Important? A bank interest rate is a rate at which a countries central bank lends money to local banks.

The interest rate is charged by nations central or federal bank on loans advances to control the money supply in the economy and the banking sector. The Bank of Canada has an inflation target of 1% to 2% (currently 2.8%), and the interest rates are changed accordingly to meet the target. Therefore, the Bank of Canada’s and other central bank rate decisions can have a significant impact on the financial markets.

Expectations In a recent speech, Stephen Poloz, the Governor of Bank of Canada said he continues to believe gradually increasing interest rates is the right approach. According to the latest forecasts, it is highly anticipated that the Bank of Canada will raise its interest rates in the upcoming meeting from 1.5% to 1.75%, potentially a fifth rate hike since July 2017. "We expect the Bank to hike this month, in addition to hiking four more times in 2019, as the BoC’s measure of core inflation touched 2.0% for the first time since 2012 in August and is facing increased capacity constraints," said Daniel Hui, an analyst at J.P. Morgan. "This [October] hike was already well anticipated by markets even before the USMCA breakthrough (80% priced before, 90%+ priced now), so it is the forward-looking rhetoric that might imply future pace and terminal rate that is more important for markets to monitor," says Hui.

All eyes will be on the decision on Wednesday. This article is written by a GO Markets Analyst and is based on their independent analysis. They remain fully responsible for the views expressed as well as any remaining error or omissions.

Trading Forex and Derivatives carries a high level of risk. Sources: Go Markets MT4, Google, Datawrapper

Many traders utilise shares or options amongst their investment strategies either for income or capital growth. One key factor that such traders may consider in their choice of specific markets to trade is liquidity, with a higher trading volume impacting positively on the ability to get in and out of trades at a fair price. Others may find the choice to trade specific companies or sectors not as well represented in their local market.

For many therefore, the breadth of choice and liquidity may make this market the preferred market to trade. Like any type of trading, sustainable results require a depth of knowledge and commitment to trading an individual tried and tested system. This system should include in depth reference to risk management throughout.

However, due to the choice of market, a trader can make regular profit and yet lose this (and potentially more) through the currency risks associated with trading in US dollars rather than, for example, their base currency of Australian dollars or GB pounds. Holding a significant position in US shares or options means that many traders have exposure to positions in tens of thousands in USD. So what is the currency risk?

The reality is that profits can be ‘used up’, or losses can be compounded, by adverse currency movements. The reason for this is simple. Let’s assume that your currency is AUD and it is transferred into USD for trading purposes.

The exchange value when converted back to the original currency at some time in the future will be dependent not only on trading results but on the movement of AUD versus USD. While your money is in your account in USD, weakness in AUD will mean a greater worth in AUD when converted back, whereas a lesser conversion worth will result if there is AUD strength while your money is sitting is USD. Let’s give an example...

See below a daily chart of AUD/USD for the last 3 years. Note the price from the end of January 2018 at a level of 0.8134. The price at Nov 2019 was at 0.6776 so a difference of 0.1358 So, an investment to fund a trading account of AUD$30,000 would have equalled an original USD value of $24,402.

With the movement in the currency alone over this period (assuming no movement in share price) the value of the account when transferred back into AUD would have risen to $36,007.59 or in other words a 20.03% increase. So, in this case the underlying currency movement was of benefit. However, if this positive currency outcome is the case when there is USD strength (when your trading capital is in USD), with the same AUDUSD currency movement in the other direction, the loss could be 20.03%.

This would mean that you would have had to profit by this 20.03% in your trades simply to breakeven. This WAS the case if you look at a chart from the beginning of Jan 2016 to Aug 2017. More than this of course, if you have lost $6007.59 on a similar price move in the other direction, broke even on your trades during that period, so your equivalent AUD value is $23,992.41, your trading return would have to be now 25% profit to recover the original capital level simple because of currency movement.

Bear in mind, of course we have chosen only a $30,000 example, some of you may have considerably more than this in the market (and so considerably more currency risk) than the example we have given. Risk management of your hedge Although you are entering a low margin requirement Forex position due to the leverage associated with Forex, we cannot understate the importance of a full understanding of the implications of this. Should the AUD move lower still (as we explained above in looking at what has happened since January 2018), the value of your hedge may move significantly.

If we look at using the analogy of an insurance policy in trying to explain the concept, the maximum risk is the initial “premium” paid in this case. However, with any Forex position there is obviously the risk of losing more than your original investment. Additionally, you are trading your shares/options in a different account and hence there must be the ability to money manage between the two accounts.

Our team can guide you further on these important issues. One last thing… Although we cannot advise when it is right for you, if at all, to put in a currency hedge, it is worthwhile raising the question about what the current AUDUSD chart is telling you now technically. Additionally, with the potential for further US rate cuts, and if you believe there will be some resolution to trade tariff wars between the US and China, both events have the potential to strengthen AUD (and so weaken your USD capital).

If invested in USD based trading for some time you have benefitted, logically, it is not unreasonable to consider whether it is worth ‘locking’ some of this in. So, what can you do? Your choices are twofold. 1.

Allow your invested trading capital to be subjected to the risks associated with underlying currency movements or, 2. Hedge the currency risks with a non-expiring Forex position. If option “2” looks attractive, the reality is you can: • Mitigate the risk through consideration of a Forex hedge. • Attempt to optimise your hedge by timing its placement and exit i.e. use technical landmarks, to decide when to get in and out of a hedge. (Please note: a hedge is for insurance purpose and so although there may be merit in timing entry and exit, we are not suggesting you trade in and out of a hedge on a regular basis).

Learn how to reduce the risk We are happy not only to show you how but guide you step by step in how to set this up. There are a couple of practical issues you would need to have in place to manage this well but again we can go through these to enable you to make the right decision for you. If you think this might be for you, then simply connect with us at [email protected] and we will arrange for one of our account team to discuss a currency hedge that may be a fit for you.