Wednesday 19.08.2020
Asian Session
Asian equities retreated today mainly due to losses from Chinese and Hong Kong shares, even though it was near 7-month peak, which caused by ongoing policy stimulus which aimed to moderate the hit from the coronavirus pandemic. Yesterday Hong Kong’s index rose by 0.08%, while Shanghai’s index added 0.36%. South Korea’s Kospi index lost almost 2% and Japan’s index Nikkei lost 0.20%.
| Asian Stock | Closed |
| Nikkei | -0.20% |
| Hong Kong HSI | +0.08% |
| China Shanghai SSE | +0.36% |
| KOSPI – South Korea | -1.98% |
US Stocks
Another all-time high record for Wall Street yesterday, as stocks advanced even higher and rallied more than 50% since March lows, despite investors ongoing concerns over the US economy. SP500 reached the intraday level of 3395 and closed the day higher by 0.23%, while Dow Jones lost 0.21% and Nasdaq index increased by 0.73%.The record for the SP500 came as the dollar extended its latest declines into a fifth day. Today all eyes turn to FOMC news for any further stimulus package to stimulate the economy again.
| U.S Stocks | Closed |
| DOW | -0.21% |
| S&P500 | +0.23% |
| NASDAQ | +0.73% |
Major Currencies
Euro/Dollar bounces towards 1.1950 as dollar is in selling pressure. The pair has bounced-off lows and looks to regain 1.1950 amid resurgent US dollar supply and dollar’s fall came along with fall on treasuries yields which continue to undermine the greenback. Pound is appreciating today against dollar and jumped back near 1.325 resistance level due to upbeat UK CPI news. A correction is expected to occur near 1.31885 and if then pound could extend its gains and go towards 1.34 as a first target. Dollar/Yen is currently traded near 105.3. The greenback resumed its recent losing streak and continued to remain under pressure in European session yesterday. The pair fell to 105.29 in New York morning due to dollar’s broad-based weakness as negotiations between the Republicans and the Democrats remain at a standstill. Investors should pay attention on FOMC news later on the day.
Gold Market
Gold prices managed to finish even higher yesterday indicating that the bullish momentum its not done yet and gold recovered very fast since investors booked most of their profits after all-time high records. The level of $2000 remains a psychological level amid persistent weakness in the US dollar and the slack in government bond yields. December gold on futures rose by $14.40 per ounce, or 0.7%, to settle at $2,012.10, after the metal jumped by 2.5% on Monday to mark its best daily point and percentage gain since April 22.
Oil Market
Oil prices still find obstacles to get a clear direction as investors await today’s supply data, the effect of the OPEC production cuts and committee meeting. West Texas Intermediate crude for September on futures delivery CL.1, -0.58% CLU20, -0.58% closed at $42.89 per barrel and remained unchanged on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The global benchmark, October Brent crude BRN00, -0.68%, gained 9 cents, or 0.2%, to finish at $45.56 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.
European Stocks
It was another mixed day for the auto sector yesterday as BMW and Daimler shares fall, while Continental rose. It was also a bearish day for prime banks such as Deutsche Bank which slid by 1.40%, with Commerzbank declining by 0.64%. Stoxx600 closed lower yesterday by 0.56%. Today futures for Eurostoxx50 and Dax30 rose 0.3% each while London’s FTSE futures added 0.2% and all eyes turn later to US FOMC news and EU’s inflation figures for July.
On the data front 19-08-2020
| Time (GMT+3) | Event | Impact |
| 09:00 am | GBP Consumer Price Index (YoY) (Jul) | High |
| 10:00 am | EUR EcoFin Meeting | Medium |
| 15:30 pm | CAD BoC Consumer Price Index Core (YoY) (Jul) | High |
| 21:00 pm | USD FOMC Minutes | High |
