FOREX
The US dollar is trading within a narrow range in relation to other major currencies as Thursday’s session gets underway. The greenback appears to have found support, as economic data released on Wednesday showed the resilience of the American economy, with retail sales figures for October exceeding expectations. Inflation is dropping faster than predicted but remains above the Fed’s target, while the economy, despite the slowdown observed in last week’s employment figures, is still going strong. Against this background, the central bank may keep rates at the current high levels, or even hike them again, without crashing the economy, in a dynamic that favours the dollar.
Ricardo Evangelista – Senior Analyst, ActivTrades
Source: ActivTrader
EUROPEAN SHARES
European markets fluctuated on Thursday as bullish sentiment took a break while holding recent gains.
The equity rally spurred by dovish bets following cooler-than-expected inflation reports has now widely spread. Following sharp price rises on most benchmarks and a weaker US dollar, many traders have taken out profit, leading to some consolidation or slight pull-backs on those markets.
In addition, investors and analysts have also started wondering what the Fed’s reaction would be to the recent CPI data at its December meeting, as inflation falling faster than expected may push its members to reconsider the “higher-for-longer” narrative.
That said, most stock benchmarks remain well-oriented as pull-backs remain limited. The STOXX-50 index climbed higher since the opening bell, as solid gains from utilities, industrial and real estate shares offset losses in the energy and consumer cyclicals sector.
The market still trades above the 4,300.0pts zone, on its way to challenging the 4,330.0pts resistance for the second time.
Pierre Veyret – Technical analyst, ActivTrades
Source: ActivTrader
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