
Equity, fixed income and forex markets are struggling to establish clear trends as caution prevails ahead of the Greek “cash for reforms” referendum on Sunday.
Wall Street’s closure for Independence Day is removing a crucial source of momentum, though yet again Chinese stocks are an outlier, with investors suffering another extremely volatile and ultimately miserable session.
The FTSE Eurofirst 300, a pan-European stock index, is down 0.3 per cent and that nervousness is showing in demand for havens, with German benchmark 10-year Bund yields easing 2 basis points to 0.83 per cent. Yet the euro is adding 8 pips to $1.1091, Financial Times reported.
Base metal prices are mildly mixed and Brent crude is off 40 cents to $61.67 a barrel.
Gold is up just $3 at $1,167 an ounce, and sits only $35 or so above fresh five-year lows. The bullion has not benefited from any flight to safety related to worries over Greece, with the recently stronger dollar and the prospect of higher US borrowing costs.
That said, US 2-year government bond yields, which are highly sensitive to monetary policy, fell 6 basis points to 0.63 per cent on Thursday, following slightly softer than expected jobs data, which some analysts believe calls into question the likelihood of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates in September.
The US bond market is also closed on Friday but the jobs news is still weighing on the buck — a bit — with the dollar index inching 0.1 per cent lower to 96.03.
The reluctance to make bold bets in the current session was also evident in parts of Asia, exemplified by Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average adding less than 0.1 per cent.
GMT 15:13 2018 Saturday ,20 January
US 'erred' in supporting WTO membership for China, RussiaGMT 17:22 2018 Thursday ,18 January
US industrial output in 2017 posts biggest gain since 2010GMT 17:12 2018 Thursday ,18 January
No more bonuses for Carillion bosses after UK collapseGMT 17:20 2018 Wednesday ,17 January
EU to remove Panama, South Korea from tax haven blacklistGMT 17:16 2018 Wednesday ,17 January
Citigroup reports steep Q4 losses tied to US tax reformGMT 17:11 2018 Wednesday ,17 January
Pressure rises on British govt over Carillion collapseGMT 17:52 2018 Monday ,15 January
Iran jetliner deal could take longer to complete, Airbus saysGMT 17:44 2018 Monday ,15 January
EU to remove Panama, Korea, UAE, 5 others from tax haven blacklist
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©
Send your comments
Your comment as a visitor