Over most of the week, fund flows pushed the Japanese yen and Swiss franc higher amid safe-haven flows. The Australian dollar (and the New Zealand dollar) fell as risk-off sentiment took hold on the back of a slowdown in China and lower commodity and stock prices.
Today saw a reflection of some of those trends.
During the day, the AUD/USD pair was the strongest among the major currencies. The Swiss Franc ended the day with the weakest performance. The Japanese Yen ended the day with mixed performance. The US Dollar, which was mixed for most of the week, ended the week with the same level today.
Stocks rose in Europe and the United States today.
Major European indices rebounded during today’s trading, with all indicators rising.
- German DAX, +0.68%
- French CAC +1.22%
- FTSE 100 +1.21%
- Spain’s IBEX rises 0.18%
- Italy’s FTSE MIB rises 0.12%
For the trading week, most indices were higher except for the Italian FTSE MIB.
- German DAX +1.38%
- French CAC index -0.22%
- UK FTSE 100 Index, +1.59%
- Spanish IBEX, +0.71%
- FTSE MIB Italy, -1.09%
Final US numbers wrapped up the day with gains across the board.
- The Dow Industrial Average rose 654.27 points, or 1.64%, to 40,589.35.
- The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 59.86 points, or 1.11%, to 5,459.09.
- The Nasdaq rose 176.16 points, or 1.03%, to 17,357.88 points.
- The Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks rose 37.08 points, or 1.67%, to 2,260.06.
For the trading week, the results were mixed with the Dow Jones rising for the fourth straight week. The Russell 2000 also rose for the third week. The S&P and Nasdaq fell for the second straight week. The week ahead will be impacted by a series of earnings highlights from Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and Amazon among other large-cap giants across various industries.
US yields close near lows across the yield curve today:
- 2-year yield 4.389%, -5.4bps
- 5-year yield 4.0767%, -6.8 bps
- 10-year yield 4.195%, -6.0 bps
- 30-year bond yield 4.456%, -4.4bps
For the trading week:
- 2-year yield -13bps
- 5-year yield, -9.4 bps
- 10-year yield, -4.7bps
- Return for 30 years, unchanged.
The 2-10-year yield rose 8.3 basis points during the week to -19.4 basis points. The 2-30-year spread ended positive at 6.7 basis points.
Basically, today’s PCE data was in line with the PCE data in yesterday’s GDP data.
The core PCE index rose 0.188% (upwardly revised) with a year-over-year decline to 2.5% from 2.6%.
Michigan consumer survey data was mixed with sentiment rising compared to initial expectations, current conditions declining and expectations rising. Inflation results were more or less than expected and close to last month’s levels.
In addition to earnings, the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan will announce interest rate decisions. The U.S. jobs report will be released on Friday. The CPI will be released in Australia and the European Union. The PMI will also be released in China.
Thank you for your support this week. I hope you all have a great weekend (hint: enjoy the Olympics).