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OVERNIGHT MARKET SNAPSHOT FOR MONDAY 24/08/20
- SPI200 (Sept) overnight futures down 11 pts to 6057
- SP500 up 11.65 pts to 3397.16
- NASDAQ up 46.85 pts to 11,311.80
- Dow Jones up 190.60 pts to 27,930.33
- FTSE100 down 11.45 pts to 6001.89
- DAX30 down 65.20 pts to 12,764.80
- GOLD futures US session (Aug) up $0.80 to $1934.60 an ounce
- COPPER futures (Comex Sept) down $0.0490 to $2.9255 a pound
- OIL futures US Session (Nymex Oct) down $0.48 to $42.34 a barrel
- CRB Index down 0.86 pts to 149.96
- AUDUSD trading at 0.7161
- EURUSD trading at 1.1797
- GBPUSD trading at 1.3090
- USDJPY trading at 105.8000
- USD Index US Session (ICE Sept) up 0.427 to 93.205
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US indexes again pushed higher from the open while Europe was under pressure to continue the disconnect over the last few trading sessions. The Nasdaq again expanded into new highs being lifted by a 5% rally in Apple. Buyers sentiment was improved by data which showed a jump in business activity and home sales prior to the session open. Traders are looking to the data to support an expanding economy but we may still have to wait coming data for a clearer picture of the current situation as many states have pulled back on their re-openings. Trump has just had a major news conference to announce a new ‘Plasma’ to help treat Covid-19. Plasma is nothing new and has been used previously but is being touted as being very effective and suggests blood plasma can decrease mortality rates and improve the health of patients when administered in the first three days of their hospitalization. The FDA said early evidence was promising and can grant the use as an ’emergency use authorization’. The news conference was again conveniently timed prior to market open and on the eve of the Republican National Convention. It also comes after Trump accused the FDA of making it difficult for drug companies to get people for vaccine testing and called it political stalling. It may be the cynic in me but the news, although positive for the virus, has been overly pushed and being used to push markets and the Trump campaign ahead of elections. The DOW closed up 0.69% with the broader SP500 also ended up 0.34% and the Nasdaq kept the rally going ending up 0.42% for the session. In Europe, major Indexes ended the session lower but did manage to recover some of the losses into the close as the US opened and moved up. Some weaker than expected regional data and concerns that the recovery was stalling added to the negative sentiment for the session.
The USD Index rallied through the European session to push up off the 92.50 zone and back above 93.00. Bulls were supported by the better than expected data so if we see another push to 94.00, expect to see further pressure on Indexes as traders lock in gains as expectations increase that stimulus may continue to be delayed. The EURUSD pushed lower off recent highs as the dollar rallied and continued to squeeze out recent buyers on the Euro. The move was also fueled by negative sentiment into the global economic recovery as major Indexes in Europe stall. The GBPUSD again was hit hard and fell off highs around 1.3250. The last few sessions have been choppy on the pair as the USD starts to find a base and Brexit news pressures buyers. Price wants to lift on dollar weakness but struggles to continue higher suggesting highs may be in place…again the dollar will be the market to provide major direction. The AUDUSD struggled to lift off the 0.7140 area as buyers run out of puff. The fall was due to the dollar weakness but was offset to some extent from the continued US Index strength. Buyers seem to be holding on but a break of 0.7130 will trigger selling pressure. The USDJPY swung around with the moves into the Dollar as traders search for direction. If the strength into the dollar continues then a move back up to recent highs will be on the cards.
SPOT GOLD was again stuck in a range between support at 1925 and resistance at 1954. Price did spike below support but bounced back into the range but buyers do not look committed and any further USD strength may again bring in sellers. We would not expect that the news from Trump on plasma will be positive for Gold today. Crude Oil was hit on the dollar strength but has now bounced back after Plasma news to close the remaining gap for bulls this morning. If price continues to fend off weakness, we expect to see bulls come in for a run higher on expectations for a lift in demand. Copper is less positive than Oil as price also took a hit on on dollar strength but could not bounce back. Price continues to hover around the lows so will need to find buying support soon for a run back up through 3.000.
Cryptocurrencies came under minor pressure over the weekend and held the lows. Bitcoin is currently trading at $11644.0 down 0.11% while Ethereum is at $391.59 down 0.42% and Ripple is at $0.28461 up 0.03%.
The ASX200 ended the week on a low note Friday after a strong open gave way to selling pressure into the close. The index ended down 8.8 points to 6111.2 with the Utilities and Gold sectors weighing most on the action while Energy ending with some handy gains. Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones by 749 to 541 and 337 ended unchanged.
The ASX200 is expected to open down 10 points after a strong bounce back from an early selloff on the SPI200.
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ECONOMIC DATA OUT TODAY (AEST)
NZD Retail Sales 8:45am
CNY CB Leading Index 11pm
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SPI200 INTRADAY LEVELS TO WATCH
